Harry Potter and the Vampire's Sister
by buzzrock
Summary: It's Harry's final year at Hogwarts. He's got to deal with Death Eaters, Horcruxes, Ginny's seduction, and his own mortality. HBP spoilers. Please R&R.
1. Dumbledore's Will

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors notes:** I loved The Half-Blood Prince. Since I can't wait for the last book, I have decided to write my own. I doubt I'll actually finish it, but at least I can get all of these ideas out of my head and out there.

**Chapter 1**

**Dumbledore's Will**

It was a very cool summer night at number 4 Privet Drive. Everyone in the house was asleep, except a boy named Harry Potter. Harry Potter was a skinny boy with glasses, bright green eyes, and untidy black hair, and a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, currently at the age of sixteen. Harry was constantly looking at the clock while he packed his things. At midnight, he would be seventeen. At the moment, there were two things about Harry that could be considered unusual. The first being that he was not only awake at 11:50 at night, but that he was packing everything he owned into his trunk for a long journey that he did not plan to return from. The reason for this is related to the second unusual thing about him which was (although you really should know this after six books) that Harry Potter is a wizard.

As Harry packed, he remembered what Uncle Vernon had said to him on the first day of summer break. You see, Harry's parents had been murdered when he was only a year old. Since then he had been sent to live with his aunt and uncle, his only living relatives. His aunt and uncle were muggles (non-magical people) and hated wizards, which meant that they hated Harry. This is what Uncle Vernon had said to Harry.

"Listen up boy, because I've got something important to tell you. When we took you in, we promised that old guy Dumbeledory, or whatever he hell his name is, that we would let you live with us until you became a man. Apparently, that's going to happen when you turn seventeen, and I say the sooner you get out, the better. You better spend your time making plans to go stay with those red haired people, or whatever it is you want to do, I don't really care. On the morning of your seventeenth birthday, I expect to wake up to find you gone from the house. At that point you will no longer be a member of this household and if I see you, I will be forced to label you as a burglar and I will shoot you. And I don't want any of your kind to come and pick you up either or I'll shoot them. Your supposed to be a man so you can find your own mode of transportation!"

Harry was pretty sure that Uncle Vernon wouldn't actually shoot him, but then again, he had purchased a rifle on Harry's eleventh birthday for shooting wizards and Harry thought it would be better not to risk it. Quite frankly, Harry was more than happy to be saying goodbye forever to Number 4 Privet Drive, for although he had lived there his entire life, he did not consider it his home. His real home was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the wizard school he had attended since the age of eleven. He would have been looking forward to going back to Hogwarts for his seventh and final year, but because of the events that took place at the end of his sixth year which involved an attack by Death Eaters and the murder of the schools headmaster Professor Dumbledore, Harry was unsure if Hogwarts would even open again, but he knew that even if it did, he would not be going back. He had indeed, made plans to stay with his favorite family the Weasleys so that he could attend the wedding of their oldest son Bill Weasley, to Fleur Delacour. After that, he would go to Godric Hollow, the town where his parents had lived, and visit their graves. After that… he had a destiny to fulfill.

Harry's wristwatch beeped. It was midnight. He was now seventeen, and according to wizard law, a man. Harry thought about this for a second. "I'm a man." He was a little disappointed to discover that it didn't feel all that different than being a kid. Harry simply shrugged and threw the last of his things into his trunk.

He closed the trunk and attempted to lift it and found that he could only get it up about two inches. He put it down and stepped back. "Well, it does have everything I own." Harry said to himself. "If only I could…" Harry stopped in mid thought and slapped himself on the forehead. "Of course. I'm not under age anymore. I can do magic outside of school now." Harry immediately pulled out his wand, eager to try out his new freedom. He pointed it at his trunk and said in a soft voice "_featherlitimus." _A small amount of silver light shot out of his wand and hit his trunk. He then bent down and lifted his trunk over his head with one hand. Harry grinned "I love magic."

Harry then went over to his desk to retrieve his last belonging, his snowy white owl Hedwig, who was standing on her perch in her cage looking out the window. Harry looked out his window also and saw several owls that all seemed to be flying towards him. Instinctively, Harry opened the window and several brown owls that he had never seen before swooped into his window, three carrying letters, and the rest carrying parcels, one big one, and five smaller ones. Harry was extremely confused. All of the owls seemed to hang back while the first owl went up to Harry and held out its leg which had a rolled up piece of parchment tied to it. Clearly Harry was meant to look at that first. Harry took the letter and opened it. He saw immediately that it was an official Ministry of Magic notice because of the stamp in the bottom right corner and wondered briefly if he should have waited to make sure he was seventeen in all time zones before he used magic. It read:

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_The objects that you have just received are to be delivered to you on your seventeenth birthday along with the letter in accordance with the last will and testament of Albus _(I don't remember all of his middle names so just screw it) _Dumbledore._

_Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic_

Harry reread the note a few more times. It had never occurred to him that Professor Dumbledore had a will, nor that he had left anything to Harry. An owl pecked Harry's hand and he looked up. Most of the owls that had been carrying the packages had already taken drinks from Hedwig's water bottle and left. Only two owls remained and one held out an envelope to Harry. He took it. Written on the front of the envelope in what Harry immediately recognized as Dumbledore's handwriting were the words: _to Harry._ Harry's hand shook slightly as he opened the envelope. He was about to read a note from Dumbledore after spending a month thinking about what advise Dumbledore would give him if he were still alive. The memory of watching Dumbledore get murdered flashed before his eyes. He felt a surge of hatred as he saw Snape deliver the _Avada Kedarva_ curse and muttered something about cutting off Snape's balls before finally opening the letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_If you are reading this, then that means I did not return from our little "field trip" which I knew was entirely possible. First and far most, I would like to wish you a happy birthday. You are seventeen now and that means you are a man. Congratulations on reaching this age, and know that I am very proud of you. _

_Secondly Harry, I have long anticipated the day that I died and can probably guess some of the things that may or may not happen as a result of my death. It is possible that with me no longer headmaster, it may be ruled that Hogwarts is no longer safe and will be closed. If this happens, then I am truly sorry Harry for I know that you consider Hogwarts you home. However it is also possible that_ _upon my death, you reached the decision to drop out of Hogwarts in order to devote yourself completely to fighting Voldemort. As your teacher, it is my duty to advise against it and I have two very good reasons. The first is that whoever is left in charge of the school will probably make you Head Boy, and that is not a responsibility that I can allow you to just walk away from. With me gone everyone will be looking to you for support and guidance and to defeat Voldemort, and if you, as they say, "pull a Weasly" it will lower morale greatly. The second reason, and this may sound wrong to you but I stand by it, is that finishing your wizard education is just as important if not more important than defeating Voldemort. It is also very essential to defeating him. There are many things that you will learn in your seventh year that I would not have you face Voldemort without knowing._

Harry was amazed. He stopped reading and sat down on his bed. After considering Dumbledore's words very carefully and finally reached the decision that he would return to Hogwarts if it reopened after all. Harry smiled to himself. He had been hoping for an excuse to go back. If anyone asked why he had changed his mind, all he had to say was that Dumbledore had told him, and no one would argue with that. Harry continued to read.

_Now that I have lectured you, I suppose I should tell you about your birthday presents. The big parcel will be my pensieve. I am giving it to you as a tool so that you might search your memories to find clues that will lead you to the remaining Horcruxes. I have also included a few smaller parcels which will be some choice memories that, while they wont help you, you may enjoy them._

_The smallest parcel will be a tiny object that looks like a muggle cigarette lighter. This is a devise I invented myself called a put-outer. It can be used to magically put out muggle light bulbs. Although I can think of no specific need for it, I'm sure that you will find it useful._

_Finally, the envelope, contains a permission slip signed by me that will allow you unlimited access to the restricted section of the Hogwarts library. There is also included a list of books on the dark arts that I would like you to read, as they will be great assets in your final battle._

_Now before I end this letter, I would like to wish you good luck in your quest and offer you some words of wisdom. Do not worry about me, for death is just the next great adventure. Remember that your enemy is always at a disadvantage when you know something that he doesn't know that you know. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. And never give up hope. If you ever feel afraid or sad, just remember one thing. YOU ARE HARRY POTTER._

_Love, Albus Dumbledore._

Harry smiled. He looked at his new birthday presents and smiled at them, then he looked back at the letter and smiled at it. He couldn't do anything but smile. Dumbledore's final words had filled him with a strange new courage and confidence that he had never felt before. "I'm the chosen one, I'm the boy who lived, I AM HARRY POTTER." Harry might not have realized it at the time but he was finally starting to see in himself the things that so many people had seen in him for so long. That he, Harry Potter is a very extraordinary boy.

Harry looked down at his watch and saw that he had wasted nearly and hour reading about his letter and decided that Uncle Vernon just might come and check to make sure he had left. Harry folded up the letter and put it in his pocket, then he opened his trunk and shoved his unopened parcels into it. Then he took the last envelope from the last owl, which took off instantly. Finally he closed his window, grabbed Hedwig's cage, picked up his feather light trunk and went downstairs. He opened the front door and headed out. Once he got to the end of the yard and took one last look at his so called home. "Goodbye Number 4 Privet Drive" he said aloud, "and good riddance."


	2. The Exonerated

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors notes:** Ok I realize that I only submitted one chapter and probably no one read it because I submitted it at 2:00 in the morning, but trust me, this is really good story. Later, Harry will be going to Azkaban, learning how to fight like Dumbledore, and facing his own mortality. But, I've got to start slow.

**Chapter 2**

**The Exonerated**

Harry walked down to the end of Privet Drive. Once he got to the street, the looked around quickly to make sure no one was looking, then he pulled out his wand and held it up. A few seconds later, a giant triple-decker bus pulled up in front of him from out of nowhere. Harry bent down to pick up his trunk, but stopped abruptly when he heard a familiar voice say "Ello Arry!"

"Stan!" Harry responded. Sure enough, there stood Stan Shunpike, the conductor of the Night Bus. Stan Shunpike had been sent to Azkaban prison the previous year for passing information to Death Eaters. Although, Harry knew there was no way that Stan Shunpike was a Death Eater and that the Ministry had only arrested him to make it look like they were doing a good job. Harry walked up to Stan Shunpike and shook his hand firmly. Harry hand no memory of ever actually liking Stan Shunpike, but he was never the less, happy to see him. Harry also noticed that Stan also seemed just as happy to see him.

"I thought you were in Azkaban." said Harry.

"They let me out." replied Stan proudly. "Here, let me get that for you." Stan bent down and picked up Harry's trunk. "Traveling light?" he asked as he felt how light Harry's trunk was.

"Feather light charm." Harry replied.

"Oh, so your seventeen now?" Stan asked as he brought Harry's trunk onto the Night Bus.

"Just turned it today."

"Well happy birthday sir. So, where to?"

"The Burrow."

"Ok. Take er away Ern." Said Stan turning to the bus driver.

The Night Bus took off with a force so powerful, it forced Harry into a sitting position on the bed behind him. Stan pulled out a ticket and handed it to Harry. "How much?" Harry asked.

"Birthday special. Free ride." Stan replied as Harry took his ticket. Harry noticed that Stan Shunpike seemed very different. The effects of Azkaban showed clearly on his face. There were bags under his eyes and his face looked pale and unshaven. His red hair was also turning grey at the edges. The physical changes weren't the only changes in Stan. He was also treating Harry with a new found respect.

"So, how long have you been out?" Harry asked, trying to start conversation.

"Only about three days. About time too. But I'm not complaining. Got me old job back, and got the ell away from Azkaban. It might not have dementors anymore, but that didn't stop it from being a totally dismal place. No sunlight, terrible food, and of course the ranting and raving of Luscious Malfoy next door."

Harry looked at Stan slightly impressed. Most people who came out of Azkaban found it painful to talk about, but Stan Shunpike, who always seemed to like knowing things that other people didn't know, actually seemed egger to tell about his experience.

"You met Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Yeah his cell was right next to mine. You put him away didn't you?"

"Yeah. What did he rant and rave about?"

"Oh, just a bunch of bull crap about ow e should get better living conditions or else You-Know-Oo would show up and murder everyone, blah blah blah, yak yak yak. Really annoying. I'm surprised that they didn't just use a silencing charm on him, but I guess they considered him an added punishment for all of the prisoners around him. So, do you think that they are going to open Ogwarts this year?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know."

Harry and Stan spent the rest of the bus ride chatting about Hogwarts. Apparently, Stan had graduated only two years before Harry had started school. He had been a Hufflepuff and had wanted to be an Auror, but hadn't gotten good enough grades. Harry was happy to see that Stan seemed to share his hatred of Snape and his love of quiddich. Stan had been a chaser on the Hufflepuff team but hadn't been very good. "Of course in my day, we weren't constantly being attacked by Death Eaters. But then again, we didn't have the Chosen One back then. It must suck.

Harry laughed. "Yeah it does." There was an awkward silence which was broken by the Night Bus finally stopping in front of the Burrow.

"The Burrow." Said Stan. "Right this ways sir." Harry grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage and stepped off the Bus. "Um, Arry." Stan called after him. "Look, I eard that it was your influence that got me out of Azkaban, and I just wanted to say thanks."

"Don't mention it" Harry replied. Stan gave Harry one last wave before the Night Bus took off and disappeared into thin air.


	3. Harry's Birthday Party

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors notes:** For those dumb asses that can't figure out why Chapter 2 was called The Exonerated, it refers to Stan Shunpike who was sent to Azkaban for a crime that he did not commit and was exonerated or set free. It also refers to a play of the same name.

**Chapter 3**

**Harry's Birthday Party**

Harry looked up at the five story house that looked like it was about to fall over and probably would if it was not being held up by magic. The Burrow, home of the Weasly family and Harry's second home. The front lawn of the house was already set up for the wedding. A big white arch was set up with several chairs in front of it separated into two sections. Harry wondered briefly what the hurry was for. The wedding wasn't for another day.

Harry went up to the door of the Burrow and knocked on it. Only a few seconds later, the door opened and an arm reached out and grabbed him and pulled him inside. Before Harry knew what was going on, a pair of arms were flung around him and a pair of lips were pressed against his, kissing him. Harry sniffed and caught a flowery scent that told him he was being kissed by Ginny Weasly. Ginny and Harry had started dating late into Harry's sixth year and Ginny's fifth year. Harry had broken up with Ginny at the end of the year, but Harry wasn't thinking about that at the moment. In fact, once Ginny had started kissing him, he had completely forgotten all thought and was only vaguely aware where he was or that there were other people in the room. All that seemed to matter was kissing Ginny Weasly and if he ever stopped, terrible things would happen.

The kissing could have gone on for days for all Harry knew, but in reality it didn't even last a full minute before Ginny pulled away, or to be more accurate, was pulled away.

"Oi, come on Ginny. The man just got in, give him a second to breath." said the tall red haired boy that had pulled Ginny away, whom Harry recognized as his best friend, and Ginny's older brother Ron. Harry felt a small surge of hatred for Ron for making Ginny stop kissing him, but it passed after only a second when Harry remembered that he and Ginny were supposed to be broken up.

"Sorry" said Ginny looking slightly embarrassed. "I just got carried away."

"No problem." Harry said, although he could feel a lump forming on the back of his shoulder where Ginny had forced him against the wall.

"Hi Harry!" Harry looked and noticed that a girl with brown bushy hair had come up to him.

"Hi Hermione." Harry responded. "I didn't expect you all to be up so late."

"What do you mean?" asked Ron sounding slightly astonished. "Of course we were going to wait up for you. Mum wanted to wait up for you too, but she has to get up early to make wedding preparations."

Harry looked around and saw that Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were not the only ones who had waited up for him. The twins Fred and George were there and looked like they had intended to wait for him but they had both fallen asleep on the couch. Harry also saw the bride and groom to be, Bill and Fleur. Bill looked just as cool as ever. His hair was out of his pony tail and came down to his shoulders, but his dragon fang earring showed right through. The biggest change to Bill was that he still had the large scars on his face from where Fenfir Greybeck had attacked him the previous year. He had his arm around Fleur who stood next to him looking just as blond and beautiful as ever.

"Arry!" said Fleur coming over to him. "Et ezz so good to see you." And then of course she did what she always did whenever she saw Harry, gave him a kiss on each cheek, which Harry, when she looked away, pretended not to like, mainly for Ginny's sake.

"Well then, our guest of honor is here." chimed in Bill suddenly. "Shall we start the party?"

"Not yet." said Ron. "Let me wake up Fred and George." Ron sounded unusually excited. He ran over to the couch where the twins were sleeping and pulled out his wand. It looked like something he had been wanting to do for a long time. Harry heard Hermione let out a sigh and then saw Ron point his wand at the twins and say "_fresco aguamentai" _and cold water shot from his wand all over the sleeping twins causing them to wake with a start. Harry, Ginny, Bill and Fleur all laughed and Hermione made a vain attempt to conceal a smile.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for!" demanded Fred once he had regained his composure.

"Because, it's time to start the party." Ron responded casually putting his wand away. Harry wondered what party they were all talking about.

The twins both looked up and noticed Harry. "Hey Harry." they both said at the same time as they took out their wands and started to dry themselves off.

"Hey Fred. Hey George." Harry said. "What party are you all talking about?"

Ginny turned to him looking astonished. "Your birthday party of course. Mum baked you a cake."

Harry could barely believe his ears. The Dursleys had never thrown Harry a birthday party. Hell they had never even allowed him to attend Dudley's birthday parties with the exception of the one at the zoo where Harry had set free a snake. Ginny led Harry over to the dinner table where he found a large rectangular cake with white icing, "Happy Birthday Harry" spelled out in green icing, and seventeen candles. Bill lit all of the candles with a wave of his wand and then they all sand Happy Birthday to Harry. Harry had never heard the song before, but he decided that it wasn't that big of a deal since it was probably the easiest song he had ever heard.

Afterwards, everyone got cake and everyone filled him in on the crazy events that were leading up to the wedding. Apparently Fleur's father had insisted on paying for everything, which was lucky because the Weasleys did not have much money to spend on the wedding. In the morning was supposed to be the wedding rehearsal, which Harry was unfamiliar with so everyone filled him in. Bill and Fleur were planning to go to Africa for their honeymoon. Business was still booming at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. And finally, according to Arthur who had been asking around at work, Hogwarts was indeed going to be opening again this year.

Once everyone had eaten their fill of cake, Bill said that it was time for presents. "I'll get them!" said Ron who seemed egger to do more magic now that he was at home. Ron pointed his wand at the pile of presents that was in front of the fire, and before anyone could stop him, he had said "_Accio presents." _The entire pile of presents shot toward Ron, crashing into him and knocking him off his feet. Everyone laughed and Hermione helped him up.

"Your supposed to get them one at a time." said Hermione in between laughs. At that moment, Harry noticed for the first time that Ron and Hermione were looking at each other differently than they usually did. Harry wondered why for only a few seconds and then turned his attention to his presents. Bill and Fleur had gotten him a razor and aftershave, which he had been needing for a long time. Fred and George had gotten him a gift bag of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products which included the entire collection of Skiving Snackboxes, all their different types of trick quills, a few muggle magic tricks, and of course, several of their Dark Arts products, which Harry was sure would come in handy one day. Mrs. Weasley had once again, knitted Harry a sweater. Ron had gotten him a Chudley Cannons poster for the wall next to his bed at Hogwarts. Hermione, being Hermione, had gotten Harry a book. A copy of Hogwarts A History to be more accurate. Harry noticed that Ginny did not seem to have gotten him a present, but he did not say anything seeing as no one else seemed to notice.

Once all the presents had been unwrapped, everyone realized that it was 3:00 in the morning and decided it was time for bed. The twins said goodbye and apparated back to their shop in Diagon Alley. Bill and Fleur set off to their room and Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked Harry up to his room. Once they were all inside, Harry decided it was time to tell them about his message from Dumbledore. At the end of the story, Ron was positively dumbfounded, Hermione was predictably jealous that Harry now had unlimited access to the restricted section of the library, and Ginny just sat there looking at him intently.

"So… are you going to go back to school?" Ron asked once Harry had finished with the story.

"Yeah I guess so. It's what Dumbledore would have wanted."

"Well he's right you know." chimed in Hermione. "You just abandon you education. Your education is important."

"I know Hermione."

"By the way Harry, I wanted to tell you something in private about my present. You see I had an ulterior motive for giving you that book, not just being annoyed with questions that the book explains."

"What's that?" Harry asked curiously.

"It might help you find the remaining horcruxes."

Now Harry was really curious. "How so?"

"Harry that book contains a separate biography for each of the four Hogwarts founders. If any piece of literature can tell you what objects that once belonged to Gryffindor or Ravenclaw might have been made into horcruxes, that book will."

Harry considered her. She was really making a lot of sense. He picked up the book which he had brought up with him and flipped through it. "Good thinking Hermione." Harry finally said. Hermione smiled at him, and then everyone decided it was time for bed. They all wished him goodnight and left.

Harry changed into his pajamas, but before he could get into bed, there was a soft knock on his door. When Harry opened it, he was surprised to see Ginny standing outside his room. "Can I come in?" she asked. Harry was confused, but shrugged and let her in.

"What's up?" he asked her once she was in.

"I just didn't want to give you your present in front of everyone else." she replied, handing him a small box. Harry took it and opened it. What was inside surprised him. It was a small golden locket that looked strangely familiar. "Open it." said Ginny seeing the confused look on his face. Harry did and saw, looking back at him from the two pictures inside the locket, on the right, a boy about Harry's age with glasses, and on the left, a girl also about Harry's age with red hair and green eyes. Harry had seen both of these people before.

"These aren't… are they?" Harry asked amazed.

"Yep. They're your parents." said Ginny proudly. "Apparently, it was a graduation present from your father to your mother."

"Where did you get this?"

"I bought it from Mundungus Fletcher. He said he'd gotten it off the black market, but had been unable to sell it because their photographs are stuck in there with a sticking charm. He made me pay a lot for it so you'd better get me something expensive for my birthday." Harry looked up at Ginny and gazed into her eyes. Harry had wanted something like this for years. Something he could carry with him all the time and look at if he ever felt the need to see his parents faces. A sudden understanding dawned on him as to why he liked Ginny Weasly. "You don't have to wear it or anything." Ginny continued breaking their gaze. "I just thought…"

"Ginny I love it." Harry cut her off. Ginny returned his gaze for a moment, and then she walked up to him, put her arms around his head, and kissed him softly. Harry closed his eyes and once again became lost. Lost in a world where there was no Voldemort, no horcruxes, no nothing. It was just him and Ginny.

Just as quickly as the moment had come, it ended. "Well… thanks." said Harry not quite knowing what else to say. "I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"You know," said Ginny in different tone of voice, "I don't have to go to bed just yet. I can stay up here a little while longer." As she said this, she moved right up close to Harry looking like she was ready for some more kissing. Harry could feel his heart going a mile a minute, his throat was suddenly dry, and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up straight (as was another part of his body which I will not go in to detail about because I want to keep my T rating). But this time Harry resisted.

"No Ginny," Harry said backing away. "I'm tired. I need to go to bed." Ginny looked slightly disappointed.

"Ok." she said and began to walk away.

"Um… Ginny," Harry said before she could get to the door. "Just to be clear, you do remember what I said at the end of last year don't you? About us not being able to be together?"

"Oh yeah I remember. But clearly you don't remember what I said in response to that."

Harry searched his memory trying to figure out what she was referring to, but unable to think of anything, he simply said "Well, I guess not."

"I said, 'I don't care'" replied Ginny matter-of-factly. "I know your just doing what you think is right, but you just can't get rid of me that easily. Good night." And with that, she left.

Harry found himself staring at the door for several seconds before turning around and going to bed. "Well, at least tonight I'll have something pleasant to dream about."

**Authors Notes: **If anyone was offended by the few sexual references I made at the end of this chapter, I apologize. The fact is, I really think that Harry Potter needs more sexual references. That's my only problem with J. K. Rowling. She's writing a story about teenagers, and yet there are no sexual references. Anyway, please R&R because I really need some feedback.


	4. Andrew Donovan

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors Note:** I would like to personally thank I am a Banana, and leiselmae for their reviews. And don't worry it's getting better. In this chapter, I kill off the Dursleys, something I'm sure everyone has been wanting to happen for a long time. I love fan fiction.

**Chapter 4**

**Andrew Donovan**

Harry woke up at noon the next day. He swore to himself when he realized that Ginny was not there with him as she had been in his dream. Needless to say, he had to wait a few minutes before going downstairs. When he finally did, he saw that no one from the party the night before was there.

"Harry! You're up." said Mrs. Weasly going up to him and giving him the usual hug.

"Hello Mrs. Weasly." Harry said. "Thanks for the sweater. And the cake."

"Oh it was the least I could do. Everyone else is outside for the wedding rehearsal. I'll make you some lunch." And with that, Mrs. Weasly was off.

Harry looked around the room and saw three more people. The first was a young woman with spiky pink hair who when she saw him said "Wotcher Harry" as she always did. It was Tonks. The second was a much older man with long blonde hair, some large scars on his face, and one really large eye that moved all around the room completely independent of his other regular sized eye. That was Mad-Eye Moody. The third person, Harry had never seen before. He was a middle aged man, slightly younger than Moody, with unusually pale skin. There were large bags under his eyes and he looked like he hadn't slept in a few days, which reminded Harry of Lupin. He had a five o'clock shadow and his head was completely bald, which revealed slightly pointed ears. He was also a very burly man who looked like he worked out often. He had been sitting in an armchair and looked like he was about to fall asleep, but when he saw Harry, he stood up immediately.

"Hey Tonks, hey Mad-Eye." Harry said to the two people he recognized.

"Hello Harry." said Mad-Eye. "We've been waiting for you to wake up. Allow me to introduce you. This," he said, clearly referring to the man Harry did not know, "is Andrew Donovan, the new head of the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic. Andrew, this is Harry Potter."

Andrew walked up to Harry and shook his hand. "Very nice to meet you Mr. Potter."

"Nice to meet you." Harry replied. Harry wondered why this man was here. "Maybe he wants to talk to me about endorsing the Ministry of Magic. Well I'm not going to do it just because they let Stan Shunpike go." Harry thought.

"I'll be blunt with you Mr. Potter. I'm here on business and I've got some news for you, but I think you had better eat your lunch first." Andrew said in a business like tone. Harry nodded, although the way he had said the word "news" made Harry feel slightly uneasy.

Harry sat down at the table and ate the delicious lunch that Mrs. Weasly had made for him. Mrs. Weasly was a very good cook and she always made too much food, so it was always good to eat her cooking after a month of table scraps from Aunt Petunia. Once Harry was done, he went back into the living room and sat down across from Andrew Donovan.

"And now for business. Last night at around 3:00 in the morning, the Dark Mark was seen over Privet Drive. When we arrived we found that there were three victims. I think you know where I'm going with this." Harry couldn't believe his ears. He knew what Andrew was about to say, but he sat quietly and let him finish. "They're dead. Your uncle, your aunt, and even your cousin are all dead."

Several emotions swept over Harry at once. The first was shock. The second was relief that he had left before Voldemort had shown up. Then sadness, then fear, then shame that he hadn't felt sadness first. Then all his feelings were interrupted by a feeling of irritation toward Andrew Donovan as he when he asked "Are you okay?" Harry got the distinct impression that he was not a very sensitive man.

Just then, to Harry's great relief, Tonks intervened. "Of course he's not alright!" she snapped at Andrew. She sat down next to Harry and put her arm around him. "It's alright Harry." she said in a softer voice. "Just take your time." Harry felt grateful.

It only took a few minutes for Harry to absorb what he had just been told. Harry thought about the Dursleys which made him think that he was glad that they were dead, and then feel guilty that he had just thought that. "Your not glad that they're dead." He thought to himself. "You just don't care as much as you did about Dumbledore, or Sirius, or Cedric." Then Harry felt guilty for thinking that. How could he think that? The Dursleys were his family. Then Harry thought about that. They were his blood, but does blood make family? Were they still his family even though they didn't treat him like a human being, much less family? Did they consider him family? Well Uncle Vernon probably didn't, and Dudley definitely didn't. Aunt Petunia might have. I mean, she did stop Uncle Vernon from throwing me out two years ago. But that was just because of Dumbledore. Several more thoughts and emotions passed through Harry. Harry found it was a lot simpler when some one you like dies as opposed to someone you dislike. Then Harry decided that he didn't want to think about it anymore. He looked up at Andrew Donovan and asked the question he had just been asking himself. "Why?"

Andrew shrugged. "Who knows." he said. "Could be that he showed up looking for you and killed the Dursleys out of anger that you were already gone, could be that he was trying to send a message to you in some kind of sick way, it could be any number of reasons really. But one thing is clear. It wasn't just a Death Eater. It was Voldemort."

Tonks and Moody both winced and Harry took notice. He had only heard a few people ever actually say Voldemort's name: himself, Dumbledore, Lupin, Sirius, Ginny, and Hermione. Everyone else just called him You-Know-Who except for Death Eaters who called him the Dark Lord. Harry found that he lost a little dislike for Andrew and gained a little respect for him.

"What makes you so sure?" Harry asked.

"Arabella Figg." Andrew replied. "She's the one who saw the dark mark and contacted us. She also saw the caster and gave a very accurate description of Voldemort." Harry remembered Mrs. Figg. The Dursleys had made him stay with her every time they had gone to do something fun. Harry had never liked the old lady much, but had discovered only two years ago, that she was in fact a Squib (a person born into a magical family with no magical talent) who had been working for Dumbledore. After a few more minutes of silence, Andrew asked "Would you mind answering some questions?"

"No." Harry said plainly.

"Now according to Tonks and Mad-Eye, the Dursleys were not very good guardians and they were constantly mistreating you, and you did not like living with them. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Would you say you hated them?"

Harry thought about denying it, but decided that it was a fact that wasn't changed now that they were dead. "Yes." Harry was sounding more and more emotionless.

"Why is it then that you go back to live with them every summer? I mean Mrs. Weasly told me that she's invited you to come and stay with her over the summer breaks." As he said this, he pulled out a small hip flask like Mad-Eye's, unscrewed it and took a drink. Harry wondered if maybe it was Polyjuice Potion, but a small drop of red liquid which dripped onto Andrews lips as he let the flask down stopped Harry's suspicion. Andrew saw Harry looking at it and wiped it away as if he was trying to hide what it was.

"Well it was Dumbledore's idea." Harry responded. He then explained how living with blood relatives kept him safe from Voldemort. Andrew nodded.

"Yeah that makes sense." he said more to himself. "Tell me were they ever in contact with Dumbledore or any other wizards?"

"No."

"How did they feel about wizards in general?"

"They hated wizards." Andrew slightly raised one eyebrow.

"How did they feel about you being a wizard?"

"That's the whole reason they mistreated me." Andrew nodded.

"Harry let me be upfront here. As head of the Auror Office, I'm also in charge of the search for Voldemort. As such I need to collect as much Intel on him as I can. Seeing as how you're the only non Death Eater whose met him and lived to tell about it, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about your past experiences with him."

"Ok." Harry said. Andrew then went through every encounter with Voldemort year by year starting with the fifth year and going backwards. Harry answered his questions truthfully, but avoided telling him about the horcruxes or the prophecy. When he got to the fourth year however, Harry couldn't avoid telling him that his wand and Voldemort's wand each had a tail feather from the same phoenix.

"Well that explains something." said Andrew when he heard this, once again more to himself.

"What does it explain?" Harry asked curiously.

Andrew seemed to consider him for a minute before he answered. "Well it explains why he kidnapped Mr. Ollivander. You see in order to avoid the Priori Incantatem effect happening again if you two ever dueled again, which we believe is something he is planning, it's natural that he would want Mr. Ollivander to make him a new wand. A more powerful one probably. But lets move on."

Andrew skipped the third year as there was no encounter with Voldemort then and went on to the second, every once in a while taking a sip from his hip flask. When he asked how a memory could possess someone like that, Harry lied and said he didn't know. Once he had gotten through all of the questions about Voldemort, he asked Harry a few questions about his sixth year. Harry told him about how he suspected Draco Malfoy to be a death eater and how he had seen Snape kill Dumbledore. Andrew seemed to get angry slightly whenever heard Snape's name.

"Well that about does it for questions about Voldemort. Now if you don't mind, I just have two or three more questions about Sirius Black." Fear suddenly shot up Harry's spine. Everyone now knew that Sirius was innocent, but that didn't change the fact that Harry had broken the law several times over to help him escape. Andrew seemed to read this in Harry's face. "Don't worry," he said. "You will not be held accountable for anything your say here. To be honest it's a lot less business and more personal. Black and I are old friends you see."

Harry looked at Tonks, who was still sitting next to him. "It's ok. You can trust him Harry." she said reassuringly. Harry looked back at Andrew and said ok.

To Harry's great relief, Andrew didn't even ask anything about how Black had escaped the night he was caught, nor did he ask about the night Black was killed. Harry did however wonder why Andrew continually called him Black instead of Sirius if they had indeed been old friends.

When it was all over, three hours had passed. Andrew thanked Harry for being so cooperative and assured him that the information would go to good use. He then picked up from the end table next to his chair a red baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses that Harry had not noticed, put them on, and started for the door. "See you tomorrow Harry." Tonks said as she followed him.

Harry followed them to the door and waved as he watched them leave. As they walked down the path that led away from the Burrow, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Bill and Fleur who had all been at the wedding rehearsal, ran up to say goodbye to them. Harry watched as Andrew pulled Bill aside for a private word. Andrew and Bill seemed to know each other rather well, but Andrew also seemed to tell Bill something that upset him greatly. After a few more goodbyes the three walked a few more feet from the Burrow before they disseparated. At that point, Ron noticed Harry and called him over. Harry headed in that direction, but as soon as he got there, Bill pulled him aside.

"Um, Harry" said Bill looking unsure. "I know it's short notice, but I need a favor. Could you be my best man?"

"Your what?" Harry had no idea what a best man was.

"It just means that you stand next to me during the ceremony, and you hold the wedding ring. Usually the best man also makes a speech later, but you don't have to do that."

Harry considered it for a minute. "Why me?" he asked.

"Well I had a best man but…" Bill glanced in the direction that Andrew, Tonks, and Mad-Eye had walked. "He just canceled on me. So will you do it?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Great." Bill then led him back to the others and they continued the wedding rehearsal.

**Author's Note: **There you go Banana. Hope your still alive. I hope everyone liked this chapter. It changed several times while I was writing it. Andrew Donovan is my first original character and if you don't like him, don't worry I don't plan on adding too many more. Also I hope you were paying attention because there was a lot of foreshadowing in this chapter. As an added clue, I decided to change the title of the story after writing this chapter. Until next time, later.


	5. The Weasly, Delacour Wedding

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors Note:** First of all, thanks to everyone who has reviewed my story so far. Let me answer the questions. Basically the reason Harry is the best man is that the story is called Harry Potter… But for the sake of argument, lets just say that it is a Weasly tradition that the best man is someone outside the family. As for the questions he asked about Sirius, they aren't really consequential. All you need to know is that he asked questions about Sirius that weren't about how he escaped. They will be explained more thoroughly later on.

**Chapter 5**

**The Weasly, Delacour Wedding**

The wedding rehearsal was pretty dull. It basically consisted of a little tufty-haired wizard (whom Harry recognized as the man who had spoken at Dumbledore's funeral) walking them through what they were supposed to do. Once it was all over, Mrs. Weasly made dinner for everyone. After dinner, Harry went up to his room followed by Ron, Hermione, and Ginny who were all egger to hear what Andrew Donovan had told him. When he told them that the Dursleys had been murdered by Voldemort, they all reacted with the same quiet shock that Harry had reacted with, which made him feel better.

"What I don't get is," said Ron breaking the silence, "why did he wait until you were gone to attack?"

"He might not have." said Harry. "He might have shown up two seconds to late."

"But Harry" said Hermione, "Didn't you say that reading that letter from Dumbledore delayed you from leaving by almost an hour? If the spell that protects you from him breaks when you turn seventeen, why would he wait an hour after that to come for you?"

Harry nodded. Hermione was right again. Or was she? A thought just occurred to Harry. "Who says the spell broke when I turned seventeen? I mean, that's what I assumed too, but did Dumbledore ever actually say that?"

"Good point." Hermione replied. Harry patted himself on the back in his mind.

"Or it could be that he doesn't want to kill me like that. I think he'd rather battle me in public with a bunch of people watching so he can prove that he's better than me. I mean that's what he wanted to do the night he returned." Harry said with a shudder. The memory of that night was still painful to him.

"Do you think Voldemort knows you're here?" asked Ginny, suddenly afraid. Harry shrugged. He had been thinking about that all through dinner. What if Voldemort had asked the Dursleys where he was? They probably would have told him without hesitation, and even if they didn't he would have tortured them. The Dursleys didn't know the name Weasly, but if they had told him about a family of red-haired wizards, it wouldn't be to hard to figure out who they were talking about.

"What if he shows up tomorrow?" said Ron sounding slightly panicky. Harry had thought of this too. The wedding was supposed to be a big social event full of both English and French wizards, at least according to Bill. But for some reason, Harry just couldn't see Voldemort showing up there.

"I don't think he will." Harry said reassuringly. "The wedding wouldn't be big enough. He'd probably wait for an event 'worthy' of his presence." With that, everyone left Harry alone. They had to call it a night early because they all had to get up early the next morning.

As he sat there alone, Harry felt a sudden urge to see his parent's faces. He felt in his pockets for the locket Ginny had given him and pulled it out. He opened it and sank slightly when he found that there were no pictures in it, just a piece of parchment. Harry then remembered that this was the fake horcrux that Harry and Dumbledore had retrieved the year before. The locket Ginny had given him was still on his end table. Harry picked it up and held it next to the fake horcrux. They were identical. Harry opened the locket Ginny had given him and found that his father had moved over to his mothers picture and the two of them were kissing. The moment they realized Harry was there, James ran back to his picture and tried to look like he hadn't moved, while Lily just laughed and waved up at Harry. James looked up at his son and winked. Harry smiled.

* * *

By the time Harry had gotten up the next morning and put on his dress robes, many people had already arrived. When he got downstairs, he immediately saw several people he recognized. Most of the Order of the Phoenix was there including Tonks, Lupin, Moody, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, Madame Maxime, and even Kingsly Shacklebot whom Harry hadn't seen in over a year. Kingsly's date was a young brown haired witch Harry had never seen before, but seemed quite friendly with the rest of the Order. Harry could see her chatting animatedly with Tonks while Kingsly was saying hello to Lupin. Harry suddenly realized that here face looked familiar, like he'd seen it somewhere before. Harry looked around some more and saw Fred and George apparently trying to hit on what looked like a group of Fleur's friends from Beaubaxtons. Harry then saw, off in the distance, Mr. and Mrs. Weasly in the area that was apparently designated the entrance greeting guests as they arrived. They were currently welcoming an Egyptian looking couple, a tall bearded man with a turban and a woman with a dot on her forehead. Harry also noticed that this couple were accompanied by two girls about Harry's age, but before he could see who they were, a voice behind him made him turn around. "Ah! You must be Arry Potter."

The man standing in front of Harry was a tall man with a thick blonde mustache and slightly balding blonde hair, wearing very expensive looking dress robes. "Yes sir." Harry replied. Harry didn't know why, but this man had an air about him that just seemed to scream "CALL ME SIR!"

"I am Pierre Delacour." the man said. "Fleur is my daughter." The man held out his hand for Harry to shake, but Harry could see him continuously glancing at his scar.

"Pleased to meet you." Harry said shaking his hand.

"Allow me to introduce my wife, Alice." To Harry's great surprise, the woman he introduced was in fact, a much younger brunette witch that looked nothing like Fleur. She seemed very excitable and giggled slightly when Harry shook her hand, not making much attempt to disguise her glances at his scar. Harry got the idea that this was not his first wife.

"Hey Harry!" shouted a voice from Harry's right. Harry looked and saw Ron running toward him. "What are you doing man? You need to be in the dressing room." Harry followed Ron. He had totally forgotten that as best man, he was supposed to hang out in the dressing room with Bill until it was time for the wedding ceremony. When they got to the dressing room, Charlie Weasly was there helping Bill straighten his tie.

"Hi Harry." Charlie said when he saw Harry.

"Hey Charlie. When did you get in?"

"Just this morning." Charlie seemed to finish straightening Bill's tie, and took a step back to admire his work. "You look smashing bro." he said to his brother. "Good luck, I've got to go." Charlie then left, followed by Ron who waved and left. Bill then turned to Harry. Bill's hair was back in it's ponytail and his dragon fang earring had been taken out. Bill suddenly didn't look so cool. On the contrary, he looked extremely nervous. He was sweating and he couldn't find a comfortable place and to keep his hands. He looked out-of-place wearing wizard dress robes, as his usual attire consisted of muggle jeans and t-shirts of American rock bands that Harry had never heard of.

"Nervous?" Harry asked, which was a stupid question that he immediately wished he could take back.

"Yeah." Bill replied. "I really appreciate this by the way. I know we don't know each other very well, but…"

"Don't mention it."

"Are there a lot of people here?" Bill asked, clearly trying to think about something else besides the fact that he was about to get married. Harry told him about the Order members that were there. Bill seemed to take notice when Harry mentioned the brown haired witch he had seen with Kingsly Shacklebot. "Oh good, Angie is here."

"Who?"

"Angelica Donovan." Bill explained. "You met her brother yesterday." Harry thought about this for a minute. Harry had thought she looked familiar and thought maybe it was because she looked like her brother. But then Harry thought that couldn't be it. He could remember vaguely seeing her face somewhere, but he just didn't know where. "Who else?" Bill asked.

Harry mentioned the Egyptian couple he had seen. "That would be my old boss from Egypt. Mohammed Patil. Fred and George say you went to the Yule Ball with one of his daughters."

"Oh yeah. Parvarti." Harry said. "And Ron went with her sister Padma."

"She didn't have a good time did she?"

"No she didn't." said Harry laughing. Ron had completely ignored Padma the entire night, mainly because he couldn't get over the fact that Hermione had gone to the ball with Victor Krum. To tell the truth, Harry and Parvarti had a pretty similar time, except she had been asked to dance by someone else much sooner.

"Anyone else?" asked Bill, who seemed to be settling back into his usual cool self.

"I met Fleur's dad." Bill's smile disappeared.

"He didn't bring Alice with him did he?"

"Yeah he did."

"Great." Bill said flatly. "Fleur won't like that."

"Alice isn't Fleur's mother is she?" Harry asked. Once again a stupid question.

"Nope. Alice is his fifth wife." This news stunned Harry. Harry was not so naive that he didn't know that some marriages end in divorce. In fact, he could remember that Aunt Petunia had once kept a chart of all the couples in the neighborhood that she thought would get divorced. She loved that kind of thing. But Harry didn't know that there were people who actually divorced and re-married so many times like that.

"How's that possible?" Harry asked.

"Well…" Bill considered Harry for a moment trying to figure out how best to explain it. "You know that Fleur has some Veela blood in her right?" Harry nodded. "Well, Veela are magical creatures that have a certain magical power over men. Pierre is a half-Veela, so he has that same power, only since he's a man, it's a power over women. There's also the fact that he's a very rich man, so he's really not the type of man who's looking for one woman." Once his description was finished, Bill seemed to get nervous again and got up to pace the room.

Based on the description Bill had just given him, it was easy to see why Fleur wouldn't like her father bringing his new wife to her wedding. Harry wondered why this conversation had made Bill so nervous again, but then suddenly, understanding seemed to dawn on Harry. "That's why your nervous isn't it?"

Bill looked at Harry astonished. Harry could tell he had just read Bill's mind. "Well… I mean…" Bill started, trying to find the words. "I mean, Fleur has that power too. How do I know…"

"Look in the mirror." Harry cut in, suddenly inspired. Bill looked confused, but when he looked in the mirror, he quickly understood. He moved his hand and touched the scars on his face. "Do you really think she would have stayed with you after that if she didn't really love you?"

"Well, what if she's having second thoughts right now?"

"Your both about to pledge your lives to each other forever. Who wouldn't have second thoughts before that? You are right now. All that matters is that you two really love each other." Harry could barely believe that the words had just come out of his mouth. Harry wasn't usually the wise one who solved the problem. Harry wondered where he had gotten this strange understanding of love, and found that it must have come from Dumbledore talking to him about the love that his mother had for him. Bill looked back at Harry and grinned. He now looked impressed.

Just then, Charlie poked his head in the door and said "It's time." Bill took a deep breath, motioned to Harry that it was time to go, and they headed out.

* * *

The wedding went by without a hitch. Harry did feel uncomfortable standing up in front of everyone next to Bill. He couldn't help but feel that most eyes were drawn to him. Soon though, every eye in the room turned to watch Fleur walk down the aisle in her white wedding dress accompanied by her father looking nothing short of spectacular. Fleur then got to Bill and they faced each other as the tufty-haired wizard started talking, and Harry naturally tuned out. Harry looked slightly to the right of Fleur toward the two bridesmaids Gabrielle, Fleur's younger sister whom Harry had saved from merpeople during his fourth year, and Ginny, who looked stunning in her gold bridesmaids dress. Ginny returned his eye contact for several seconds. Suddenly and image flashed in his mind of himself standing under the arch looking at Ginny wearing the white wedding dress. Harry shook the image out of his head. Not that it wasn't a good image, but it did scare Harry a little. Finally, Harry heard the tufty-haired wizard say "You may kiss the bride." Harry noticed that Fleur didn't even flinch when she kissed Bill despite his scars. "Oh yeah," Harry thought, "they love each other. No question about it."

After the ceremony, there was the wedding feast, and then the dance floor opened. At first, Bill and Fleur stepped out there alone for their first dance as husband and wife to a bluesy song that the wedding band played. Soon more and more people started going out and dancing. Harry hung back at his table with Ron and Hermione as he did not like dancing in public much. Harry could see Tonks dancing with Lupin, Hagrid dancing with Madame Maxime, Arthur Weasly dancing with Molly, and Professor McGonagall dancing with Mad-Eye Moody. Kingsly Shacklebot was dancing with one of Fleur's relatives. The brown haired witch that Bill had identified as Angelica Donovan was nowhere to be seen. Fred, George, and Charlie, had all scored a Beaubaxtons girl.

Suddenly, Harry felt a hand tap him on the shoulder. Harry turned and saw Gabrielle. "Hi." Harry said. Gabrielle looked nervously at him and opened her mouth as if about to ask him something, but then her expression changed to one of utter horror and she turned and ran. Harry looked behind him to make sure there were no mer-people or anything scary behind him and when he saw that there wasn't, he couldn't help but laugh. "What was that about?" he asked Ron and Hermione.

Naturally, Ron shrugged, and Hermione rolled her eyes at him as if it was obvious. "Clearly she has a crush on you Harry. She probably wanted to ask you to dance, but she's to afraid you don't like her."

"Remind you of anyone?" asked a voice behind Harry. He turned and saw Ginny.

"Hi Ginny." said Harry, slightly nervous because he thought he knew what was coming.

"Dance with me?" she asked. Harry tried to explain that he wasn't a good dancer, but Ginny wouldn't hear it. She grabbed him and pulled him out to the dance floor. The two of them danced for a few songs before Ginny finally let Harry go and started dancing with a boy from Beaubaxtons to try and make Harry jealous. Harry went back to his table and saw that Ron and Hermione were gone. He looked around and suddenly saw that Ron was dancing with Hermione. RON WAS DANCING WITH HERMIONE! Harry's old fears of Ron and Hermione dating suddenly returned. "Well, whatever happens between them, it can't be any worse than what happened last year." Harry thought remembering Lavender Brown. Harry sat at his table for the rest of the night. Every once in a while, someone would come up to him and say hi. Tonks and Lupin, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall who confirmed that Hogwarts would be re-opening, and even the Patil twins who didn't stay long for their father clearly wanted to keep them away from Harry.

Finally it was time for Bill and Fleur to leave for their honeymoon. Just before they left, Fleur turned around to toss the bouquet behind her. Practically every girl there crowded up behind her, but Fleur over shot them by about five feet. The bouquet hit Ron in the face and landed in his hands. "What the deuce?" Ron said surprised.

"It means you'll be the next in the family to get married." said Fred. The look on Ron's face was priceless.


	6. Godric's Hollow

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors Note:** And now for my newest chapter. If you are at all impatient, I promise you that the gang will be going back to school not this chapter, but next chapter Also, before I started writing this, I was torn between writing this story, and writing a story about James and Lily Potter at Hogwarts because I like reading those. I'm sticking with this story for now, but I use the pensieve as a means to do both. A very effective writing tool.

**Chapter 6**

**Godric's Hollow**

The next few weeks with the Weasleys were happy ones. Harry spent most days playing quiddich with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Charlie had played a few times, but had to go back to Romania after not too long. A week after the wedding, Harry and Ron accompanied Mr. Weasly to his job at the Ministry of Magic so that they could take their apparation tests. Harry had been worried about running into Scrimgeour while there, but thankfully, they didn't run into each other. Both Harry and Ron passed.

The next day during breakfast, Errol crash-landed on the table with their Hogwarts letters. Harry opened his envelope to discover a shiny new Head Boy badge. "I knew it." said Ron sounding excited, though Harry detected a note of anger. Harry looked over at Hermione and saw, to no one's surprise except her own, that she had been made Head Girl.

"I can't believe it!" she yelled. She sounded both surprised and happy.

"How can you not?" Ron asked, sounding slightly angrier. "You've probably had your name down for head girl since first year."

Hermione gave Ron and unusual look. She looked slightly offended, but also Harry thought, a little apologetic. She then looked down at her head girl badge and changed back to exited. She ran upstairs saying "I'm going to try it on with my school robes!"

Harry put down his head boy badge and pulled out his Hogwarts letter to read it. Apparently, Professor McGonagall had been made the new headmistress, while Professor Flitwick would take over as deputy headmaster. According to the letter, the first day of school, which was usually September 1, would be August 25. "Why are they starting a week early?" Harry wondered out loud.

"Because, of the exams." Ginny answered him. "Remember last year all exams were postponed? Well they need to start a week early so that everyone can take theirs. Which means, I'll have to take my O.W.L.s the first week of school."

"Which means you had better spend some time studying." said Mrs. Weasley firmly. Ginny sighed. "Congratulations Harry." Mrs. Weasley added. Harry had expected a more enthusiastic response from Mrs. Weasley, but was glad that she wasn't making a big deal of it in front of Ron.

Harry looked over at Ron. Ron was holding Harry's head boy badge and was looking at it intently. He was making no attempt to hide his feelings anymore. Ron, though he had tried to hide it, had been very excited to become a prefect, and had perhaps gotten his hopes up because he had thought it would be Harry. Bill, Charlie, and Percy had all been head boys, and Harry knew that Ron had always lived in their shadows and wanted to measure up to them. But at the moment, Harry could think of another reason that Ron had wanted to be head boy, and at the moment, she was upstairs trying on her badge.

Ron caught Harry looking at him and handed him back his head boy badge. "Head boy." Ron said, trying to pretend that he didn't care. "Congrats." Harry wanted to say something to Ron, to apologize for making head boy instead of Ron, but nothing sounded right. "He'll get over it." Harry told himself.

* * *

The day came, when Harry, Ron and Hermione set out for Godric's Hollow, the town where Harry's parents had lived. Ginny wanted to come too, but Mrs. Weasley made her stay home and study for her O.W.L.s. The three of them took the Knight Bus. They couldn't apparate there because they had never been there before, and one of the rules about apparation is that you have to know where you are going.

Godric's Hollow was a small town just outside of London. It looked just like any other town. Harry found the spot where his parents house used to be before it had collapsed as a result of Voldemort's visit. It was just a fenced off empty lot. Even so, Harry felt a strange feeling standing outside the fence looking in. It seemed like a state of de-ja-vu, but it was also combined with sadness.

After visiting the house, Harry went to a near by florist and bought some flowers, and they made their way to the local cemetery. Harry had never been to a cemetery before and it was not a fun place to be. Harry looked around at all the different head stones and thought about all the people who had once had lives and were now dead. Thinking about it filled Harry with sadness.

After walking around the grave yard for an hour, they found the grave they were looking for. They both shared the same tombstone. On the left was the name _James Alexander Potter. _On the right was the name _Lillian Elizabeth Potter._ Harry stepped forward while Ron and Hermione respectfully hung back. "Hello Mom and Dad." Harry said to himself. He then stood there as if waiting for a response. "Sorry I haven't been to see you before now, but I've been preoccupied." The fact that he got no response gave him the unreasonable feeling that his parents were ignoring him. "Stop talking to them." he told himself. "They're dead. They can't answer you." Harry placed the flowers he had purchased in front of the tombstone, and as he did, a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Harry turned back to his friends. Clearly the sad atmosphere had affected them too. They both looked sad and somber, and Hermione looked like she was leaning against Ron slightly. "Ready to go?" he asked them. They both looked at him and nodded and they all apparated back to the Burrow. After any other journey, they would all have been egger to use their new apparation skills, but after that trip, none of them were feeling egger or excited or any positive emotions at all for that matter.

* * *

That night, Harry lay awake in his bed starring up at the ceiling. Harry had thought that visiting his parents grave would make him feel better, but he felt no different than he had felt the night before. What he felt wasn't sadness or happiness. It was like emptiness. Unable to sleep, Harry got up, opened his trunk, and pulled out the large parcel that contained Dumbledore's pensieve. He decided now was as good a time as any to open it.

Harry opened the parcel and took out the familiar stone basin. It was exactly as Harry remembered it, except it was now empty. Enclosed with it was a small note that explained how to use it. Apparently to get the memories out of your head you only have to think about them and then use a non-verbal spell to get them out, and then the pensieve would sort them automatically. Harry decided to give it a try. He touched his wand to his head, and remembered his visit to Godric's Hollow earlier that day, and thought the non-verbal spell. "_Memorio"_ Nothing happened at first. Then when Harry removed his wand from his head, he felt something wet where his wand had been. As he extracted the memory from his head, he felt only a slight tugging on his head, and when he looked at his wand, he saw the silver liquid memory dangling from it.

Harry dropped the memory into the pensieve and immediately, he saw himself standing getting off the Knight Bus as if watching through a window in the ceiling. Harry found that he could still remember it, but it felt as if it had happened long ago and he no longer felt the sadness left over from the graveyard that he had felt only seconds before. Harry took the opportunity to get rid of a few more painful memories. Harry proceeded to place in to the pensieve his memory of the night Dumbledore had died, the night Sirius had died, and the night Voldemort had returned and Cedric Diggory had been murdered.

Harry spent a few more minutes looking through a few more memories that he wanted to forget, and then grabbed one of the smaller parcels which was supposed to contain a memory. Inside was a small bottle of silver liquid and a small note. It read:

_According to Remus and Sirius, you have seen a memory of your father attacking Professor Snape, as he has done many times. I do not defend the actions of your father, but I think it best that you see both sides of the story. This memory is your father's. It is of the night he saved Professor Snape's life. Hopefully after seeing this memory, you will think better of your father._

Harry looked at the bottled memory in his hand. "This is my fathers memory." Harry was suddenly excited. Harry immediately pulled the cork out of the bottle and poured the memory into the pensieve. The liquid inside swirled and then Harry saw down into Dumbledore's office. Harry plunged his head inside the liquid.

* * *

Dumbledore sat behind his desk looking crossly at the four people standing before him. On the far left was a boy with sallow skin and greasy black hair who stood with his arms folded looking just as crossly back at Dumbledore. Standing next to him was a good-looking boy with short black hair who at the moment stood hanging his head in shame. The boy second from the right had glasses and untidy black hair who stood in place fidgeting nervously. Finally on the far right was a pretty girl with red hair and green eyes who looked concernedly around at everyone. Dumbledore did not however see the fifth person in the room, Harry Potter who just stood next to Dumbledore's desk watching interestedly.

"Explain yourself Sirius." said Dumbledore to the good-looking boy. Sirius refused to look at him.

"Well sir…" he started clearly very nervous and ashamed. The greasy haired boy next to him turned to look at him and grinned evilly. "Severus and I were having and argument, and…"

"What about?" Dumbledore cut him off. Sirius looked nervously over at the girl at the end of the group before he answered.

"Reamus." The girl's expression changed to one of shock. Dumbledore seemed to notice.

"Yes Lily." said Dumbledore to the girl. The werewolf you saw this evening is none other than young Remus Lupin. Please continue Sirius."

"Well sir," Sirius continued, "Severus was saying that he had seen Madam Pomfrey leading Remus to the Whomping Willow earlier and he wanted to know why. When I refused to tell him, he threatened to tell the whole school about it. So I just told him he could go see for himself, and I told him how to get past…" Sirius trailed off with some inaudible muttering.

"And you went Severus?" Dumbledore asked the greasy-haired boy.

"Yes sir." Severus nodded still grinning. "I went down the tunnel under the Whomping Willow because I believed that Lupin was doing something illegal."

"And so you decided to go down there yourself rather than communicating your beliefs to a teacher?" Dumbledore asked.

Severus flinched. "Yes sir." he said after a slight pause. "When I saw that Lupin is a werewolf, I was just about to run and get a teacher, but before I could he grabbed me and threw me against the wall and tried to bite me." he said getting slightly intense.

"Are you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

"I'll be fine sir. Just a small bruise from when I was thrown against the wall. At that moment, Potter showed up and tried to hex the wolf. Of course, all he succeeded in doing was drawing the werewolf's attention onto himself which gave me enough time to escape."

Dumbledore looked at the boy with glasses and untidy black hair no longer angry. "He saved your life then." he said. It was more of a statement, but was clearly intended as a question.

Severus seemed to get extremely angry at these words. "Well… I guess. Although I would like to point out that this whole little prank was probably his idea to begin with."

"What?" Sirius suddenly looked up. "No sir! James had nothing to do with it. And neither did Remus. It was all my idea." Dumbledore studied him for a minute.

"I believe you Sirius." he said. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and Severus scoffed to one side. "Now, first order of business. Severus, Lily, I must ask that the two of you to promise never to tell anyone, not even your closest friends, that young Remus Lupin is a werewolf. If you break this promise, I will be forced to punish you severely." Lily reassuringly said yes, but Severus seemed to get angry at Dumbledore.

"Sir," Severus said, "how can you possibly believe that it is safe to allow a werewolf to attend Hogwarts?"

"Because Remus Lupin is a sixth year and until tonight, because of the measures I have taken, he has never attacked, or even been seen by any of his fellow students. That is why I believe it is safe to allow Remus to attend Hogwarts." Severus looked defeated agreed.

"Moving on…" Dumbledore continued. "Sirius, of all the pranks you have pulled, and rules you have broken, this is by far the worst thing that you have ever done. Therefore, your punishment will be 100 points from Gryffindor, and detention for every weekend for the rest of the school year." All three boys looked at Dumbledore in shock.

"Detention?" Severus shouted. "Sir this was attempted murder. He should be expelled for it!"

"That is my decision Severus. Not yours. While what young Sirius did could be considered attempted murder, I believe that he acted out of a combination of anger and fear and did not mean to get yourself killed or bitten." Dumbledore then turned to Sirius who looked completely relieved. "Sirius, I believe you owe Severus an apology." Sirius changed back to his shame face as he looked at Severus.

"Severus," he said, "I'm really sorry." He sounded really sorry too.

"Oh please!" said Snape disdainfully. "Can I go now?" he asked Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded and Snape turned and stormed out of the office. There was silence for a minute and Sirius went back to hanging his head in shame.

"James" Dumbledore now said, "twenty five points to Gryffindor for saving Severus' life. Now if you and Lily will please excuse us I would like to talk to Sirius alone." James and Lily both nodded and tuned to leave. Harry followed. He was both confused and excited about everything he had just heard. The story he had always been told about that night made it seem like his father had stopped Snape from walking into danger, but then again, it was Snape who had told him that story and was probably the story Lupin had heard as his father did not seem to proud of those events. Harry also wondered how his mother had seen Remus. He assumed that he had come out from the passage in front of her and had been beaten back in by the Whomping Willow.

James and Lily walked back to the common room in silence. James kept his eyes on the ground, but Lily continuously glanced over at James as if seeing him in a new light. "Have you always known about Remus?" she asked him breaking the silence.

"Yeah." James answered quietly.

"And it doesn't affect your friendship?"

"No." They were silent until they got to the common room and James collapsed into the armchair in front of the fire, which Harry noticed was also his own favorite armchair. When James realized that Lily was still there, he looked up at her and said "I just thought I'd wait up for Sirius.

"You know" she said, still looking at him as if seeing him in a new light, "that was a very brave thing you did saving Snape like that." James looked up at her surprised.

"Um… well it's nothing no one else would have done. I don't like Snape but I couldn't just let him die."

Lily grinned. "Don't try to be modest James. Your not very good at it." James looked startled at her for several seconds before realizing she had just made a joke and letting out a small laugh. The two of them stared at each other for another minute. "Well, good night James." Lily finally said and headed for the staircase. James on the other hand seemed to see some kind of opportunity.

"Lily." he said. Lily stopped and turned back to him. "You know there's a Hogsmeade visit this weekend and if your not doing anything else…"

"Oh my god." Lily cut him off. "James Potter, are you asking me out… again?" James smiled and nodded. "James, how many times do I have to say no before you get the idea?"

James pretended to think about it for a second. "Maybe a hundred million times would get the idea across, but just maybe."

Lily sighed as if defeated. "Alright I'll go, but no funny business." James got a look on his face like he had just won the quidditch cup.

The memory ended there and Harry found himself back in his room. He went to bed with a smile on his face. "Dumbledore was right." he thought. "I did enjoy that."

**Author's note:** Yeah the bulk of this chapter is the memory, but I think it is pretty good. I think something big was supposed to happen at Godric's Hollow, but that just didn't fit with what's coming up later. Next chapter, they go back to Hogwarts. Until then, later.


	7. He's Nott Crazy

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors Note:** Finally the gang goes back to school. In this chapter, a once small character gets slightly bigger (and I mean that in terms of importance not size). Also I just reread chapter six and I personally think that there were some things I could have done differently. All I can say is I'm not J. K. Rowling so they're not all good.

**Chapter 7**

**He's Nott Crazy**

Harry opened his eyes and looked at his alarm clock. 8:15am. Panic suddenly seized him. He jumped out of bed, threw on cloths and started chucking things into his open trunk. "Why had he slept late?" he demanded of himself. "Why had he put off packing until this morning? Why hadn't Mrs. Weasly come to wake him like she usually did? We're going to miss the Hogwarts express. It leaves at nine and it's at least a half hour drive."

Just as Harry picked up his head boy badge, he immediately stopped everything and sank back onto his bed feeling positively foolish. "Half hour drive? What the bloody hell is wrong with me? I can apparate!" Harry changed out of his muggle cloths and into his school robes. There was no need for muggle cloths this time for he would be apparating directly into platform 9 ¾. He pinned his head boy badge onto his chest and finished packing his new school books which Mrs. Weasly had bought for him while he had been at Godric's Hollow the day before. Then he headed downstairs.

Ron was sitting at the table eating the breakfast that Mrs. Weasly had made for everyone before leaving with Ginny. Hermione was standing at the edge of the table pacing back and forth looking extremely nervous. When she saw Harry she made a bee line straight for him. "What took you so long?" she demanded. "We're going to be late!"

"Hermigonig" Ron said with a mouth full of food. Ron swallowed his eggs and corrected himself. "Hermione, it takes us a split second to apparate. We could leave at 8:59 and we still wouldn't be late"

"Ronald" Hermione said sternly "that would be cutting it way to close. Harry and I are head boy and girl and we need to set a good example by showing up a reasonable amount of time early." Ron seemed to get peeved at the mention of Harry and Hermione being heads. Hermione seemed to notice this and she seemed to wish she could take back what she had just said. Harry, not wanting his best friend mad at him on their first day of school, decided to take Ron's side.

"Ron's right Hermione." said Harry. "Every year we end up having to run for the train. This year let's just take our time." Hermione gave him an annoyed look then looked around for an excuse.

"What if the clock is slow?" she asked finally settling on the clock on the wall.

"How can a clock be slow? It's not going anywhere." said a confused Ron. Harry laughed as he sat down for his breakfast.

"Hermione" Harry said, "magic clocks don't get slow or fast and you should really know that by now." And with that Harry picked up a piece of bacon, shoved it into his mouth and looked over at Hermione. It wasn't often that she said something stupid, but when she did, it was a moment worth remembering.

Hermione finally convinced them to leave at 8:50 so that they would have ten minutes to spare. Harry picked up his trunk and Hedwig's cage and apparated. The next moment, he was on the familiar platform 9 ¾ looking up at the big red train that would take him to Hogwarts. Harry looked around the platform and was a little surprised to see so few people had arrived. "Am I that early?" Harry thought out loud.

"I don't think so." said Hermione who had just apparated next to him.

"Then where is everybody?" Harry asked her.

"I bet a lot of students were pulled out of school by their parents because of Dumbledore's death."

"Oh right." Harry suddenly remembered running into the Patil twins at the wedding and how their father had been anxious to get them away from him. Harry thought for a second that maybe he himself was the reason so many parents wanted their students to stay away from school. He was, after all, the one Voldemort wanted dead.

"Well I'm glad to see that you three showed up early." Harry turned and saw that Mrs. Weasly had just come through the fake wall followed by Ginny. Mrs. Weasly gave them all the usual goodbye hugs before they boarded the train and waved goodbye to them as the train took off.

"Come on Harry" Hermione said once the train had started moving. "We need to go to the prefect meeting." Ron snorted in anger as Hermione led the way to the end of the train. Once they were far enough from Ron and Ginny, Hermione commented "Ron really wanted to be head boy you know. But he'll get over it."

They were the first ones to reach the front carriage but slowly the fifth and sixth year prefects arrived one by one. Harry, never having been a prefect, had never been to a prefect meeting, so Hermione led it. She helped them all pick out patrol schedules and they agreed on Tuesdays for meetings. Once the meeting was finally over, Harry found that he was extremely hungry. Luckily the trolley had made it's way to their side of the train and Harry told Hermione to go ahead while he bought himself some lunch.

After buying his cauldron cakes, Harry made his way down the train looking in windows trying to find his friends. He noticed that there were a lot more empty compartments than usual. Several people waved to him. He also saw several people who should have graduated the year before, but had to come back to take their N.E.W.T. exams, Cho Chang, Harry's ex-girlfriend among them.

When Harry looked back in front of him from checking a compartment for his friends, he saw that his way was blocked by the two widest students at Hogwarts, Crabbe and Goyle. Standing in front of them, arms folded looking intently at Harry was Draco Malfoy's girlfriend Pansy Parkinson. When Harry got up to them, they didn't look like they were moving. "Excuse me." Harry said trying to get them to move. No one moved or said anything. "I don't know if you realize it, but you two are so fat, that when you stand side by side like that, you block the whole hallway." Crabbe and Goyle glared at him.

"Why should we let you pass?" asked Parkinson, clearly trying to sound intimidating.

"So you've taken over babysitting these two then have you?" Harry asked Parkinson. Then he turned back to Crabbe and Goyle. "Are the two of you so stupid that you always need someone to do your thinking for you?" Crabbe and Goyle's glares got even meaner, but then suddenly changed to looks of fear at something behind Harry.

"Better move boys or the 'head boy' might give you 'detention'." said a low voice behind Harry that he did not recognize. To his great surprise, Crabbe and Goyle both nodded and headed back to their compartments. Parkinson, peeved at Crabbe and Goyle deserting her, gave Harry one last glare and turned to leave. Harry turned around to see who had spoken and found that he was face to face with a stringy Slytherin that had never spoken in front of him before. "Harry Potter." the boy said smugly.

"That's my name don't wear it out." Harry replied, not wanting to show that he was confused. "And you are…" Harry waited for the boy to finish his sentence but he said nothing. Then Harry found that he remembered the boys name. "Theodore Nott right?" The boy nodded.

"So tell me" Nott said, "is it true?"

"Is what true?"

Nott looked around to make sure no one could hear him. Then he said to Harry in a low voice "That Dumbledore begged for his life before Snape finished him." Harry suddenly filled with rage and before he knew what he was doing, he had reached into his robes, pulled out his wand, and pointed it at Nott's throat. Nott didn't even flinch. He simply stood there as if welcoming the wand pointed at his throat. His eyes were wide and hungry looking. Harry was reminded of a young Tom Riddle holding the locket of Slytherin.

After a standoff that lasted several seconds, Harry took a deep breath and lowered his wand. Nott looked disappointed and turned to go back to his compartment. Harry thought for a minute about the odd confrontation he had just had. Any normal person would have shown at least a little fear of getting cursed, but apparently Theodore Nott was not a normal person. Harry also wondered how Nott knew that Dumbledore had indeed begged Snape for his life.

After a few more seconds of walking, Harry finally reached the compartment that contained, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, a round boy named Neville Longbottom, a girl with dirty blonde hair named Luna Lovegood, and to Harry's surprise, the brown haired adult witch that Harry had seen at Bill and Fleur's wedding. When Harry opened the compartment door, all of his friends greeted him happily. Harry got the idea that they had all been having a very entertaining chat.

"Harry what took you so long?" asked Hermione excitedly. "Let me introduce you. This is Professor Donovan."

"Please Hermione." said the brown haired woman. "Classes haven't even started yet. You don't have to call me Professor." She had a very good natured voice and she seemed to be a genuinely happy person. Harry had a little difficulty believing that this person was a teacher.

"You're a teacher?" Harry asked.

"When the school year starts, I will be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Until then, my name is Angelica. Angie for short." she responded holding out her hand to shake. Harry took it and shook it. "And you of course need no introduction. Your Harry Potter."

Harry sat down in the crowded compartment while Angelica continued the story she had been telling before Harry had interrupted. Apparently Angelica had spent the last several years in America working as a hitwitch, which was what they called aurors in America. The stories she told were very entertaining ones about hunting dark wizards in America. Angelica was a very good story teller, and she seemed to find just the right moments to pause for dramatic effect or crack a joke.

As Harry listened, he wondered several things about Angelica, having temporarily forgotten his run-in with Nott. The first thing he wondered was how a totally business-like man such as Andrew Donovan could have a sister as happy and laid back as her. They looked enough alike, they both had the same pointy ears, the same eyes, and the same nose, but that seemed to be their only similarities. Angelica seemed much more awake and did not share Andrew's pale skin or the bags under his eyes.

Secondly, Harry wondered how she had been found to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. The year prior, Dumbledore had actually been so desperate to find a teacher that he'd had to give the job to Snape whom he had avoided giving the job to for as long as Harry had been going to school. The fact that she had just come back from America was probably a factor, but Harry noticed that did not seem to want to go into detail about why she had left England or why she had suddenly decided to quit her job and come back to teach.

The third and final thing that Harry wondered was why she looked so familiar. Where had he seen her before? It must have been several years ago because Harry had a vague picture in his head of Angelica looking much younger. But how was that possible if she had just gotten back from America?

Finally, the train arrived at the station. Harry hopped off the train and heard the familiar "First years this way." from Hagrid. Harry waved at Hagrid who waved back happily. Angelica, who had gotten off after Harry waved at Hagrid as well who waved back. Harry wondered briefly why everyone seemed to know her except him.

As head boy, Harry was responsible for making sure that all the students got off the train safely. Once the train was empty, Harry headed to the thestral-drawn carriages. There were only two left. One was full of his friends who were waiting for him. The other seemed to be populated only by Theodore Nott, who was standing outside of the empty carriage looking directly at the thestrals. When Nott noticed Harry looking at him, he nodded towards the thestrals and gave Harry a small wink. This registered in Harry's mind. "Theodore Nott can see the thestrals." Harry thought. "Theodore Nott has seen death."

**Authors Note:** And there you go, another chapter in the bag. Hope you liked this one. There was some more foreshadowing in this chapter so I hope you were paying attention. Just for the record, most of the details about Theodore Nott are not made up. Check out  if you don't believe me.


	8. The Shortest Sorting Ever

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors Note:** Actually I have nothing to say this time. Here's chapter 8. Enjoy.

**Chapter 8**

**The Shortest Sorting Ever**

The Great Hall was a familiar and welcoming sight for Harry. The four house tables all full of the different house members all chatting loudly, all surrounded by candles floating in the air. Harry looked up at the night sky that was shown on the bewitched ceiling. It was truly a beautiful night and the stars were showing brightly.

Despite how happy it made Harry to be back in the great hall, he couldn't help but notice how empty it seemed. Normally at the start of term feast, every table was packed, except for the ends that were reserved for the incoming first years. This year there were small gaps in between people all over the place. Harry sat down with his friends, except for Luna who went to sit at the Ravenclaw table, and scanned the Gryffindor table. At one end, he saw Dean Thomas, Ginny's ex-boyfriend, who was starring down at his empty plate looking lonely, probably due to the absence of his best friend Seamus Finnigan. At the other end of the table, Harry recognized Lavender Brown, who had dated Ron briefly the year prior, sitting alone looking downright miserable due to the absence of her best friend Pavarti Patil. As he returned his gaze back to where he was, he noticed that he was being looked at by Romilda Vane, the sneaky fourth year girl who had attempted to poison him with love potion once, but had instead gotten Ron which had ultimately lead to Ron getting poisoned with real poison. Harry pretended not to notice.

The front doors opened and Hagrid led in the first years. Harry thought the numbers had been so few. There seemed to only be about twenty. Professor Flitwick used his wand to levitate in the stool and the sorting hat. The sorting hat then opened it's tear of a mouth and sang it's new song, (I suck with poetry so I'm not going to write the entire song) which was basically another warning that they all needed to stick together in these troubled times. Then Professor Flitwick called off the names of the first years and they were sorted into their houses. It was the shortest sorting ever and Harry noticed that there seemed to be no new Slytherins. Once it was over, the feast began.

Harry dug into all the different foods. He looked up at the staff table and noticed that apart from Angelica Donovan who was chatting happily with Professor Slughorn, there were no new faces. The only face he hadn't expected was Professor Grubbly-Plank who had substituted for Hagrid in the past. "What's she doing here?" Harry asked seeing that Hagrid was also at the table.

"I think she's going to teach Transfiguration." Hermione answered.

"But she teaches Care of Magical Creatures."

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe she's proficient in more than one subject." Harry had stopped listening however when he felt Ginny's foot rubbing against his leg underneath the table. Ginny who was sitting across from him, winked.

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw that it was relatively full compared to all of the other tables. The only noticeable gap was at the very end which left Theodore Nott sitting alone and looking perfectly comfortable with it. He seemed to be staring off into space while he ate his food. Harry was reminded of Luna. "What are you looking at?" Ron asked.

"Theodore Nott." Harry replied. Harry then told them about the confrontation he had with Nott on the train. When he was finished, everyone was just as confused as him. They were all silent. No one seemed to know what to make of it. Ron was the first to break the silence.

"That guy's batty." he said (batty is British for crazy). "I heard that he once got put into St. Mungo's for mental instability."

"Oh Ron that's just a story." said Hermione.

Soon afterwards, the feast ended and Professor McGonagall got up to make her first start of term speech. "Welcome to all first years. To all returning students, welcome back." she started with a direct quote from Dumbledore. "For those of you who do not know, or do not take it seriously," she seemed to look in Harry's general direction, "the dark forest is out of bounds to all students, and Mr. Filch has listed all banned items in his office. Last years final exams will start tomorrow morning. Those who are only staying for their N.E.W.T. exams will remember that the Hogwarts Express will be taking you back to Platform 9 ¾ next Sunday. Those of you who would like to play for your house Quidditch team should speak to their head of house. Finally I would like to announce the new staff appointments. The new Transfiguration teacher will be Professor Grubbly-Plank. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be Professor Donovan. And lastly, the new head of Gryffindor house, will be Professor Hagrid." Harry and his friends all applauded enthusiastically for Hagrid. "That is all I have to say, except good night."

Everyone got up and made for their dormitories. Harry, being head boy, stayed a while to make sure the new Gryffindor prefects, who were Dennis Creevey and Demelza Robins, were doing their jobs of leading the first years to the dormitories. As he watched, he was tapped on the shoulder by Professor McGonagall. "I was wondering if I might have a word with you in my office." she said. Harry nodded, told Hermione where he was going, and followed Professor McGonagall out.

She led him down the familiar hallways to the large stone gargoyle and said "_Feroverto" _which Harry recognized as an incantation from Transfiguration for turning animals into water goblets. The large stone gargoyle jumped aside and the stone escalator rose from the floor. They both got on it and rode it up. At the top they entered the familiar headmaster's office full of pictures of past headmasters most of whom, including Dumbledore, were asleep. Professor McGonagall conjured Harry a chair and then sat down behind her desk. "Well, first I want to say that I'm glad that you decided to come back to school. I heard rumors that you were going go fight the Dark Lord on your own."

"It's what Dumbledore would have wanted." Harry answered. Professor McGonagall nodded.

"I was wondering if you were ready to tell me where you and Professor Dumbledore went last year. You should know that I am the new head of the Order and anything you can tell me will be quite useful." Harry noticed that there was something different about Professor McGonagall. She didn't seem as strict as she usually was and she seemed to be acting as if they were almost on friendly terms which they weren't.

"I'm sorry Professor, but if Dumbledore had wanted you to know he would have told you. Right now I'm sure that the only person he wanted to know is me." As Harry said this he glanced at the portrait of Dumbledore and saw that it had one eye open. Harry wondered why Dumbledore would pretend to be asleep.

Professor McGonagall considered him for a moment. "Very well Potter. I don't know why he would want this but I trust his judgment. That's pretty much it. You may go now."

Harry got up and left. As he made his way back to the Gryffindor common room, he sensed that something was picking at him from the back of his mind. Something Professor McGonagall had said or done had raised red flags in his mind. Harry didn't know why but there was something suspicious about her. It didn't hit him until he reached the portrait hole that led to the Gryffindor common-room.

"I heard rumors that you were going go fight the Dark Lord on your own." That sentence echoed in his brain. Professor McGonagall had referred to Voldemort as the Dark Lord. Why would she do that. Only Death Eaters refer to Voldemort as the Dark Lord. Professor McGonagall would never join the Death Eaters. Unless that wasn't Professor McGonagall. It might have been a Death Eater using Polyjuice Potion. She had been acting differently.

Harry walked up to the fat lady and said the new password "Patronus" and stepped into the common-room and saw Ron and Hermione sitting on the couch waiting for him. Harry immediately noticed that Ron had his arm around Hermione but seemed to take it back the second he saw Harry. "What did Professor McGonagall want?" he asked. Harry got the distinct impression that he was trying to draw Harry's attention away from the fact that he had just had his arm around Hermione. Harry wondered why Ron was so egger to hide it.

Harry simply told them about their meeting. He didn't bring up his suspicions because he knew they wouldn't believe them and he didn't want to worry them over what was probably nothing. Harry decided to himself that he was just getting paranoid after the betrayal of Snape. With that Harry, realizing how tired he was, went upstairs to the new head boy dormitory, not noticing that Ron had decided to stay with Hermione a few more minutes.

The head boy dormitory was at the top of the tower and was a single room, with a private bathroom, dresser, and large four-poster bed. Harry decided he would explore in the morning. He changed into his pajamas and plopped down into bed where he fell fast asleep.

* * *

Many miles away in Diagon Alley, the Weasly twins were rudely awakened by a loud banging at the door downstairs. "It's one o-clock in the fucking morning! Who the bloody hell could that be?" complained George.

"I'll go check." said Fred. He grabbed his bath robe and went downstairs to the Weasly's Wizard Wheezes shop and saw a cloaked figure banging on the glass, but magically unbreakable, door. Fred marched angrily over to the door and opened it a crack. "We're closed!" he said angrily. "What the bloody hell do you want!"

"I just wanted you to open your door." said a dark sinister voice. Fred starred at the man in confusion, as what had just been said did not register right away mainly because Fred was so sleepy. When it finally registered, his eyes widened with fear and he made to close the door but he was to late. The cloaked figure had already stuck his wand into the cracked door and shouted "_Impedimenta!"_ With a flash of light and a loud bang, the door was blasted open and Fred Weasly was blasted several feet back and held to the ground by invisible ropes. The cloaked figure let out a menacing laugh, then pointed his wand skyward and said "_Mormorde." _Light shot from his wand and the Dark Mark appeared in the sky.

**Author's Note: **My first cliffhanger. What happens to the Weasly twins? You'll have to read the next chapter to find out.


	9. The Twins Taken

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors Note:** I made a mistake on the chapter 7 author note at the bottom. I meant to reference j.k. but for some legal reason, it didn't show up when I posted it. So if you want to know more about Theodore Nott, visit j.k. Anyway, here's the answer of the cliffhanger.

**Chapter 9**

**The Twins Taken**

Harry was awakened the next morning by a loud knocking on his door. Harry grudgingly rolled out of bed and went to open the door where he found Ron, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom. "Morning boys." Harry said after a yawn. "What's up?"

"Mind if we check out the head boy dorm?" asked Ron. Harry was glad to see that Ron seemed to have gotten over losing head boy to Harry.

"Not at all. Come on in." Harry opened the door and all the boys came in and admired the new room along with Harry who got the chance to admire the room for the first time since he'd gotten it. It was a very nice room. It was the size of a regular boys dormitory except it only had one bed. It was complete with a desk where he could do his homework, it's own armchair, a dresser, and a closet which were nice changes for Harry who was used to living out of his trunk.

Probably the best thing about the room was that it had it's own bathroom. The bathroom had a large mirror over the sink which was surrounded by several different types of soap dispensers that Harry was sure he would never use. Next to the toilet was a strange commode looking thing that shot streams of water into the air like a fountain. No one knew what it was or what it was for. The bath tub was also surrounded by different faucets each with a different kind of bubble bath like the bath tubs in the prefect bathroom Harry had visited his fourth year.

After thoroughly exploring the dorm, Harry and the boys headed downstairs for breakfast, but were stopped by Hagrid who was waiting for them outside the portrait hole. "Morning Hagrid." Harry and Ron said at the same time.

"Morning boys." Hagrid replied, not sounding like his usual cheerful self. "Erm… Ron, Professor McGonagall needs to see you in her office."

"Me?" Ron asked. "But why?"

"Er…" Hagrid began. It was clear that Hagrid was upset about something. "Your not in trouble or anything. She just needs to tell you something important." Ron shrugged and followed Hagrid away toward Professor McGonagall's office.

Harry and the boys continued down to the Great Hall where Harry found a seat across from Hermione. Harry looked around and saw Professor Flitwick handing out exam schedules. Harry smiled to himself knowing that all the exams for his year had been cancelled. He had a week of total freedom before classes started.

"Morning Harry." Hermione said when she noticed Harry sitting across from her. "Where's Ron? He's not still mad at you for being head boy is he? Last night he said he was fine with it."

"What?"

"Nothing." Hermione said quickly. Harry wondered if she was trying to hide something from him.

"Well, no he doesn't seem mad anymore. Hagrid took him to see Professor McGonagall."

"Really? Hagrid took Ginny to see Professor McGonagall too."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Must be some kind of family emergency." Hermione looked worried.

Just then the mail arrived. Hermione moved her goblet of pumpkin juice to make room for the barn owl carrying the rolled up copy of the Daily Prophet. She took the Prophet and put a knut in the owl's pouch. "Anyone we know?" Harry asked, which was usually Ron's line, as he started on his breakfast. When Hermione didn't answer, Harry sensed something was wrong. He looked up and saw Hermione starring at the front page of the Prophet with a look of both terror and shock on her face.

"No." she muttered to herself. "It can't be."

"Hermione what happened!" Harry asked urgently. "Who is it?"

Hermione looked up at him. She was on the verge of tears. After several false starts, she finally just said "Fred and George." Harry snatched the paper from Hermione's hands and read the front page.

_Death Eater Attack on Weasly's Wizard Wheezes_

_Last night, local shop owners in Diagon Alley were shocked to see the Dark Mark over the most unlikely place, the local joke shop Weasly's Wizard Wheezes. According to eyewitnesses, Death Eaters visited the shop late at night and carried away shop owners Fred and George Weasly. The Ministry of Magic has locked up the shop declaring it a crime scene. A Ministry_ _spokesman refused to comment as to why the joke shop owners were taken._

It was suddenly clear as to why Ron and Ginny were taken to see Professor McGonagall. Harry put down the paper and looked back up at Hermione. She was looking down at her plate looking totally shocked and confused. "I just don't get it." she said. "Why Fred and George?"

"It must be for their dark arts products." Harry said. "They said the Ministry had invested in their dark arts products." Hermione looked up and they made eye-contact. They both seemed to think the same thing at the same time. They both got up and headed for the entrance. The man they were looking for was right outside the doors. When Hagrid saw them, he seemed to realize immediately that they knew about Fred and George.

"You heard didn't you?" he said. They both nodded. "Come on down to me hut. I'll get you some tea." Harry and Hermione followed Hagrid down to his hut where he poured them each a cup of tea. "Poor Ron and Ginny." Hagrid sighed. "Andrew Donovan's up there telling them about it right now."

"He's not alone is he?" Harry asked knowing how insensitive Andrew Donovan could be.

"No. Arthur and Molly are there too. Going into hiding they are. No telling who You-Know-Who might attack next."

"What about Ginny?" Hermione asked. "She can't be expected to take her O.W.L.s with her brothers kidnapped." Harry rolled his eyes. Only Hermione could think about exams at a time like this.

"I'm sure there will be some kind of special circumstances." Hagrid said. Harry and Hermione stayed in Hagrid's hut for most of the day telling stories about Fred and George and their many years of pranks.

As the sun started to go down, Harry and Hermione headed back to the castle for dinner. Ron and Ginny were not there. After dinner they went back to the common room to wait for them. It was late before Ron finally walked through the portrait hole with his arm around his sister who had tears streaming down her face. The second Ginny saw Harry, she ran to him and hugged him. Harry knew that now was not the time to worry about being broken up with Ginny. She needed comfort, so he simply kissed her on the forehead and held her in his arms

Hermione went over to Ron and put her hands on his shoulders. "Are you alright Ron?" she asked. Ron nodded. Harry could tell that Ron was being strong for the sake of his sister. He suddenly felt a surge of admiration for his best friend who was able to stay strong in the face of loss. Harry was an only child and couldn't imagine what it was like to lose a brother or sister. Ron and Hermione sat down on the couch together and Hermione held his hand. The four of them sat together for a long while before Ginny said she wanted to go to sleep. A minute later, Hermione said she wanted to go to sleep too, but before she left, she did something she had only done once. She gave Ron a kiss on the cheek.

Harry and Ron were left alone. They were quiet for several minutes before Ron finally broke the silence by saying something very unexpected. "Voldemort." Harry looked at Ron surprised. Ron had never said Voldemort's name before.

"What?"

"Voldemort." Ron repeated. "That son of a bitch actually went after my family." The kiss on the cheek seemed to have lit a fire in Ron's stomach. He suddenly looked determined and angry. "I'm gonna help you get him Harry." he said. "I'm gonna do whatever it takes. I'll help you track down every one of those damn horcruxes, and then your going to kill him right Harry?"

"Yeah." Harry said. Harry didn't know for sure if this was actually true or not, but at the moment he couldn't say anything else. He had never seen Ron like this. Even when Ron's dad had been bitten by Nagini, Ron hadn't gotten angry like this. Harry looked at Ron in a new light. Now they had something in common. They both wanted revenge on Voldemort.

**Author's Note:** There you go. I'd never let Fred and George get killed. To answer the questions that you probably have, the cloaked figure was Voldemort, and the purpose of the Dark Mark was a signal for the Death Eaters to show up. You see their shop was protected by magic and he needed to get the door open to get inside. Anyway, I'm not going to update until I get a certain number of reviews so R&R.


	10. Professor Donovan, and Angie

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors Note:** Ok I didn't get as many reviews as I wanted, but what the hell. I would have updated even if I got no reviews because that's just the kind of guy I am. All my threats are idle.

**Chapter 10**

**Professor Donovan, and Angie**

The next free week passed pretty much without incident. Harry, on the advise of Hermione, spent a lot of time in the library exercising his new unlimited access to the restricted section. He looked up all of the different books on the list that was enclosed with his permission slip. Most of them were large text books that explained the nature of the dark arts and didn't hold Harry's interest for very long. Other books had long incantations that can help reveal dark enchantments. Harry thought these might be useful, but they were to long to memorize.

Before Harry knew it, the week of freedom had passed and it was Monday, the first day of classes. He got his class schedule that morning at breakfast. It showed that he had Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts on Monday Wednesday and Friday, and Herbology and Potions on Tuesday and Thursday with the usual free periods in between classes.

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked into their first class of the day which was Charms. Professor Flitwick was sitting at the front of the class on top of his pile of books as usual. "Wands away class. Today we will be…" Professor Flitwick stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed all the odd looks the students were giving him. They all seemed to think they had misheard him. "Er… I said wands away." Everyone looked around at each other and then reluctantly put their wands away. The whole subject of Charms was about using your wand to perform a charm. No Charms lesson ever started with "wands away."

"Today we will beginning work with," Professor Flitwick snapped his fingers and the words _Wand less Charms_ appeared on the blackboard. "wand less charms." Professor Flitwick smiled around at all the now interested faces of his students. "Bet you thought we'd be copying notes didn't you?" he joked. "Anyway, as we all know, the magic that a wizard or witch uses comes from two primary sources. The wizard himself, and the wand. The wand uses its own magic, to harness the magic inside the wizard to cast the magic spell. Without a wand, the magic inside a person can only manifest itself at times when that person is particularly upset or angry. I'm sure this has happened to all of you at least once." Harry remembered the time he had lost control and blown up his aunt.

"Once a witch or wizard has obtained a certain level of understanding of magic in general, they can learn to harness that magic without a wand which is what we are going to learn today. Wands respond to incantations and wand movements. However, all wand less charms must be nonverbal and must be signaled by either clapping you hands, snapping your fingers, or simply pointing sharply." Professor Flitwick demonstrated each motion as he listed them. "Today we will attempt the levitation charm without a wand. Allow me to demonstrate." Professor Flitwick then snapped his fingers and levitated the book he was standing on. The class applauded.

Once he had dropped himself back to the ground, he passed out feathers to everyone in the class and told them all to practice. Most of the students had just last year gotten the hang of nonverbal spells, so it was a pain to have to start mastering something totally new. After an entire class of snapping, clapping and nothing happening (hey that rhymes) only Hermione managed to successfully levitate her feather. Everyone else was given the homework to practice.

"Hermione, you've got to tell us your secret." commented Ron as the three made their way back to the common room for their free period. "I mean how is it that your always the first one to master those new techniques?"

"I haven't mastered wand less charms yet Ron." Hermione replied. "I only levitated it once. And I must say it was difficult. Very different from using a wand."

"How so?" asked Harry.

"It feels different. When you do a charm without a wand, you can actually feel the magic flowing through you." said Hermione.

When Transfiguration started, they were all relieved to find that they were not expected to transfigure things without wands. Instead, the big thing this year was human transfiguration. Professor Grubbily-Plank said that for their N.E.W.T. exam, they would be required to completely transfigure themselves into different types of animals. They started small learning how to enlarge different parts of their bodies. Ron accidentally made his nose so big that he couldn't lift his face. Hermione retuned him to normal. Professor Grubbily-Plank was not as strict as Professor McGonagall, but she was clearly not as good of a teacher.

"What else have we got today?" asked Ron during lunch.

"Free period after lunch and then Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon." Hermione replied.

"What kind of teacher do you think Angie will be?" Ron asked thoughtfully. "Will she be a Lockhart or a Lupin?" Harry smiled at Ron's little analogy.

"As long as she's not an Umbrige or a Snape I'm happy." said Harry.

"I'm sure she won't be one of those. I'm sure she's qualified because she clearly knows all about the subject. I mean she is an ex-hit witch. However, I must admit I'm a little skeptical about her teaching abilities. She just seems to easy-going to be an effective teacher." Harry didn't like the idea that all teachers had to be strict, but he knew that Hermione had a point. With Voldemort on the loose, learning this subject would be more important than ever and they needed a good teacher.

That afternoon, they all headed for their usual classroom. Angie was sitting behind her desk writing something. Ron tried to say hi to her, but she didn't seem to want to acknowledge him. Harry noticed that for the first time that she was not smiling. He had never seen her not smiling. Once the whole class had gotten there, she pulled out the roll and called off everyone's name. She then tapped the blackboard with her wand and the words _Professor Donovan_ appeared. "For those of you that don't know, I am Professor Donovan. Welcome to seventh year Defense Against the Dark Arts." she said. The voice with which she spoke was totally business like and seemed to command respect. "She is Andrew Donovan's sister after all." Harry thought.

"That does it for introductions, now on to business." she continued. "This class has never had the same teacher for more than a year. As a result this class, like all other classes, is behind. It's my job to catch you all up and prepare you for your N.E.W.T. exams at the end of the year. It is also my job to teach you how to defend yourselves against the dark arts, so in addition to the N.E.W.T. criteria, I will be teaching you about several other defensive spells and dark creatures. The reason for this can be answered in one word. Voldemort." The entire class simultaneously gasped at the sound of his name except for Harry, Ron, and Hermione who simply looked surprised.

"That's right I said his name, and I want all of you to start saying his name too. Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. Last year this school was attacked by Death Eaters. What if Voldemort just walked into this classroom right now? Would you stand and face him, or would you cower into a corner? How can you be expected to fight him if you can't even say his name?" By now everyone in the class was shocked. No one seemed to have considered the possibility that Voldemort would just walk right into the school. Professor Donovan seemed to notice how shocked everyone was. "Well you've all come of age, and to me that says it's time to stop treating you like children. If I hear anyone utter the phrase You-Know-Who that person will lose points. Now wands out."

The first class was just a refresher class, but a very different experience. Any doubts that Harry or Hermione had about Professor Donovan's teaching ability vanished immediately. When the lesson was over, Harry felt like he had learned three or four new things that he should have learned the year before from Snape. As Harry packed his things to go, Professor Donovan stopped him and asked him for a quick word. "Yes Professor Donovan?" Harry asked. She smiled at him.

"Harry, class is over. Back to Angie." Harry saw that she was no longer intimidating or business-like. It was as if she had a split personality. "Anyway, Ginny told me about something you did two years ago called Dumbledore's Army. What is that exactly?"

"Well it was basically a secret Defense Against the Dark Arts club where the students could learn the defensive spells that Umbrige wouldn't teach us."

"And you taught the classes?"

"Yes." Angie looked impressed.

"How would you feel about starting it up again?"

"Why? You don't seem like a bad teacher." Angie smiled.

"Well I'm not as bad as Umbrige, but there's just not enough time in the scheduled classes for me to teach everything that I think needs to be taught. I would really need a forum to teach the students things like dueling. Dumbledore's Army sounds perfect."

"If you would be the one teaching the classes, I'd be fine with that. I wouldn't have time to teach the classes, what with head boy duties and Quidditch."

"Well of course I wouldn't ask you to teach the classes, but I would need your help in order to teach them effectively."

"How so?"

"Well I'm new here. You've been here for going on seven years. The other students know you and the look up to you. You would know what students would benefit most from this kind of thing and what students shouldn't be allowed to learn it. You wouldn't have to do much, just be my teachers assistant and help me with demonstrations and things like that."

Harry considered her for a moment. Half of him said that there was no way he would have time for this once he got homework, head boy duties, Quidditch, and finding horcruxes. The other half of him felt like this would be beneficial for both himself and for the fellow students. Harry almost felt obligated to say yes, because Angie was definitely right about his fellow students looking up to him. He could tell in the way that they said hi to him in the hallways. "I don't know." Harry finally said.

"Just help me start it up." Angie said. "If it gets to much for you, I can take over."

"Ok." Harry finally said.

"Great." Angie said. "Now get going. It's dinner time." Harry smiled at her and then turned and left.


	11. The Fighting HouseElves

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Authors Note:** Can any of my fellow writers please suggest to me what is the best time of day to update my story. Also, I would appreciate any suggestions as to how I can get more people to read my story. I really would like to get more reviews.

**Chapter 11**

**The Fighting House-Elves**

Harry woke up the next morning to discover a flyer posted on the board that read:

_Join Dumbledore's Army_

_Learn to duel. Learn how to fight dark wizards. Learn how to defend yourself from dementors, giants, and werewolves. Learn counter-curses for complex dark-magic spells and practice using them. Club is open to fourth years and above. The first meeting will be on Friday at 7:00pm in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. If you would like to join, please give your name to either Professor Donovan, or Harry Potter._

No sooner had Harry finished reading the notice then everyone who had been waiting for him to wake up immediately ran up to him and told him they wanted to join. Among them were Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Lavender Brown, Romilda Vane, Colin Creevy, Dennis Creevy, and everyone on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Harry soon realized that he would need to write down names in order to remember them all. Once he had written down all the names, he made a break for the exit to try and escape everyone asking him what the first lessons would be. Once he stepped out of the common-room, he was immediately assaulted by several Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws who were waiting for him outside of the portrait hole. Harry was just thinking that maybe he should just skip breakfast, when Ron finally made his way through the crowd and pulled Harry away.

"Harry if I didn't know you better I'd swear you enjoy that kind of attention." Ron said once they had gotten away from the mob.

"Well I don't!" Harry shot back angrily.

"Calm down Harry. I'm not the one whose mad at you. That's Hermione."

"Sorry. Wait where are you taking me?" Harry asked when he realized that they were not heading toward the common-room. "And why is Hermione mad at me."

"She'll tell you when we get there. Were going to the kitchens. That way you can eat breakfast without everyone in the school jumping on you. Angie's there waiting for you there too."

The two of them made their way to the corridor that led to the kitchens. Ron tickled the pear which opened the door and the two of them went in. Hermione was sitting behind a table sipping a pumpkin juice and looking crossly at Harry. Angie was sitting at the same table, but was sipping a tea and smiling. Andrew Donovan was also there, but was sitting in an armchair next to the fire and had fallen asleep. Harry was ready to ask Hermione why she was mad at him but was cut off by the familiar squeaky voice of Dobby saying "Harry Potter sir. Dobby is so happy to see you!"

Harry looked down at the pointy-eared pointy-nosed house-elf who was constantly trying to save his life, usually by injuring him severely. Dobby was wearing about six or seven hats and scarves that had been knitted by Hermione their fifth year, the maroon sweater that Ron had given him for Xmas, and a pair of socks, one with a dragon on it, and one with a bunch of broomsticks on it. "Hi Dobby." Harry said.

"Miss Granger says you will be having breakfast down here this morning. What can Dobby get you sir?"

"Just some eggs thanks." With that Dobby took off. Harry walked over to the table and sat across from Hermione who was still looking at him as if he had done something wrong. "Ok Hermione what did I do?" Harry asked. Hermione just continued to stare at him crossly which Harry took to mean "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you." She was clearly giving him the silent treatment which was something she usually did when she was mad at him. Harry looked over to Angie who seemed to understand that he needed help.

"She's mad because you agreed to restart the DA without consulting her since it was her idea in the first place. She also thinks that you shouldn't be teaching classes on top of being Quidditch captain and head boy and all of your homework. She doesn't think you can handle it." said Angie.

"And you do?" Harry asked. By now the house-elves had brought him his breakfast and he had started eating.

"Well Harry, you might be surprised to learn this but your seventh year of classes is comparatively easier that the last few years. Once you get past the first week, you'll see the homework load get a lot lighter. Also, I personally don't give homework."

"Really?" Harry was happy to hear this bit of news.

"That was the philosophy of my old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Professor Bellicose always said that practicing defensive spells taught you more than reading about them or writing essays on them ever did." Harry could tell by the look on Hermione's face that she did not approve of this alternative method of teaching.

"Alright Hermione. I'm sorry I agreed to restart the DA without asking you." Harry said. Hermione continued to give him the silent treatment. Harry knew it was pointless to ask for forgiveness. The only thing he could do was wait for Hermione to decide that he had been punished enough. Angie let out a small chuckle. "What's so funny Harry asked."

"Oh she just reminded me of someone I knew once." Harry could swear that her expression changed from happy to sad for a split second before she quickly changed it back to happy. "I really should apologize though. When I made that flyer, I had no idea it would lead to you getting assaulted by mobs of students."

"It's ok, I'm used to it by now." They both laughed. Harry then looked around the room. The first thing he noticed was his own house-elf Kreacher, who was helping cook breakfast looking very reluctant and surly. Kreacher scowled when he saw Harry. Harry then saw Winkey, the house-elf who had once worked for the Crouches before they had all died working happily with the other house-elves. Her cloths now looked washed and well kept. Harry was glad to see that she seemed to have finally gotten over the deaths of her former masters. Harry then looked over at the sleeping Andrew Donovan. "Why is he here?" Harry asked.

"I don't know." said Angie. "Want to stick his hand in warm water?" They both laughed. Angie picked up a breakfast muffin and chucked it as her brother's head. He woke with a start.

"Wuzza? Oh Mr. Potter. What are you doing here?"

"Eating breakfast." Harry replied. "How about you?"

"Oh, I was just running a drill. I must have fallen asleep." When he noticed the confused look on Harry's face he decided to elaborate. "You see as an added security measure along with the aurors we have stationed around the school, all the house-elves have been trained in defensive spells and dueling. We call them the Fighting House-Elves. Dobby there is the leader."

"That is correct sir!" Dobby said standing proudly in a military position. "If any dark wizards step foot inside this castle, Dobby and the Fighting House-Elves will take them down. Just like that evil git Lucious Malfoy." Dobby then suddenly went wide-eyed and covered his mouth. Then he attempted to bang his head against the leg of the table, but Harry stopped him. "Thank you Harry Potter sir. Dobby is getting better at it you know. Soon Dobby will be able to insult his old masters without having to punish himself."

The rest of breakfast was very enjoyable for Harry despite the fact that Hermione refused to speak to him. They had a free period before Herbology so they took their time and had a very long breakfast. Once it was time the three made their way to the greenhouses for their class. In, Herbology, they had to deal with some of the most dangerous plants they had ever dealt with. Hermione finally decided to talk to Harry again to stop him from sticking his hand into a Persian fly trap which would have bitten his hand off.

After lunch they headed down to the dungeons for Potions with Professor Slughorn. Harry was slightly nervous being back in Slughorn's class knowing that he expected Harry to be at the top of the class after the previous year when Harry had been helped by the Half-Blood Prince. Harry could have gone back to the Room of Requirement and gotten the old book, but ever since he had found out that the Half-Blood Prince was Snape, he had sworn to himself that he would never touch that book again.

Harry was surprised to see that despite him wanting to forget that he had ever had that book, some of the things it had taught him seemed to stick. As Harry read the ingredients of the potion of the day off the board, he thought of a few ways to improve it that all seemed to work perfectly. Slughorn gave him full marks for the day and invited him to another Slug-Club party that Harry did not intend to attend. The only bad thing was that Hermione seemed to get mad at him again.

**Author's Note:** Ok I know it seems like this chapter went nowhere, but there was some important foreshadowing in this chapter. You see I had some writer's block, but I'm over it now. The next chapter will be coming soon. I won't make you wait quite as long this time.


	12. Dueling at Dusk

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **To all my fellow Jews out there who just happen to be reading my story, I want to wish you all a Happy Chanukah. To all my Christian readers, which I'm guessing is pretty much all of you, I wish you a Happy Xmas and a Merry New Year. To everyone else, a Happy or Merry whatever the hell it is that you celebrate to you.

**Chapter 12**

**Dueling at Dusk**

As the first week of classes went by, Harry could only hope that it was indeed the hardest as Angelica had said, because it was definitely the longest. Harry found himself working during every free moment he had. Many of the students were acting like it was the middle of the school year the way they spent so much time in the library and were constantly working during meals. And when students were not working, the main topic of conversation among the seventh years was the shocking tactics of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Many students were simply shocked and appalled at the idea that they had to use Voldemort's name or else they would lose points. Apparently no one except Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had been able so actually say Voldemort, which gained them all a measure of respect.

It took Harry the entire week to get the hang of wand less charms, but he finally did it on Friday morning. That day they were to be practicing the summoning charm by putting their wands on the other side of the room and then summoning them. Harry sat in his chair and looked over at his wand at the other end of the room. He then closed his eyes and focused himself entirely on summoning the wand to him. Harry had perfected the summoning charm during his fourth year so that he could summon his broom to him in order to get past a Hungarian Horntail. Once his mind was focused, he opened his eyes, held up his hand, thought "_Accio wand"_ and snapped his finger. A sudden powerful feeling surged inside his chest and Harry felt the magic flowing through his hand. The wand shot toward him and Harry caught it.

"Well done Mr. Potter!" said Professor Flitwick. "Ten points to Gryffindor." Harry nodded his thanks and tossed his wand back across the room to practice it again. By the end of the class he was able to toss his wand away from him and then summon it back before it even touched the ground.

After the last day of the longest week of his life came to a close, the time came for the first DA meeting. After dinner, Harry made for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom since Angie had told him to show up a little early with his list of everyone who had signed up. When he got there, Angie was sitting behind her desk and seemed to be looking at something inside one of her drawers. When she saw Harry, she quickly closed the drawer. "Hello Harry, how's the first week been?"

"Long and painful." Harry responded. Angie smiled.

"Don't worry." she said. "I swear it will get easier by next week. So show me the new DA members." Harry reached into his school bag and pulled out his two foot long roll of parchment with everyone's name written on it. "Dang Harry, you really are the most popular boy in school. The only people who approached me were a few Slytherins who probably thought you'd tell them to piss off." Angie pulled out her much smaller roll of parchment and handed it to Harry. Harry read it and found that he really did not recognize any names except one, Theodore Nott.

"You know Nott is the son of a Death Eater right?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Harry noticed that she looked slightly sad. "You probably don't know this but his father's dead." Harry was indeed surprised to hear this. "Andrew said Nott's body was found in the end of June. He was clearly killed by the Avada Kedarva. He's always been a widower and Theodore's seventeen so he went to live on his own." Harry suddenly found himself feeling sorry for Theodore Nott. Harry could remember that Nott could see the Thestrels in the fifth year class which meant he had seen someone die which might explain why he was a little messed up. Harry could only imagine how damaged it would make a person to have their father murdered and forced to live on their own. Harry then decided to himself that he would not object to Nott joining the DA.

Soon people started arriving and Angie slowly began to transform into the strict and intimidating Professor Donovan. "Right." she said once everyone had arrived. "Welcome to the first meeting of Dumbledore's Army. The main focus for the first semester will be on dueling. Now it's my understanding that one of your teachers tried to teach you dueling a while back, but didn't do a very good job." There was a slight murmuring of agreement, at least among the boys, who could all remember Professor Lockheart's failed dueling club. "Dueling is simple enough to understand. There are a few subtle complexities about dueling that you need to understand in order to duel properly."

Professor Donovan then proceeded to demonstrate the different dueling stances. She showed the different places to hold your wand, pointed at your enemy when you plan to attack, pointed at the ground when you plan to defend, and held above your head if you plan to react based on what your opponent does. Harry had seen people use these different stances before and had used them himself but had no idea that each stance had a specific purpose. She also pointed out that there were specific foot positions that allowed your to move more quickly in case you needed to dodge a hex you couldn't block.

"Now how about a demonstration. Harry, be my opponent. Normally we would use nonverbal magic, but for the benefit of our audience, let's be verbal." Harry had been expecting this, so he had paid close attention. Harry stood at the front of the class across from Professor Donovan and pulled out his wand. "Bow to your opponent." They bowed to each other. "Take your position." Harry took the attack position and Professor Donovan clearly having predicted what position Harry would take, took the defensive position. "Ready… and duel."

"_Expeliamus"_ Harry said. The charm shot from his wand toward his opponent. Professor Donovan saw it coming and deflected it with a fast wand movement.

She then pointed her wand at Harry and said "_Stupefy"_ which fired off a blast of red light.

Harry then said "_Protego"_ the shield charm which successfully deflected the stunning charm right back at her. This time she did not react quickly enough and the stunning charm hit causing her to lose consciousness and fall to the ground. Everyone applauded and a few people in the back whooped. Harry stood there for a moment not quite knowing what to do next and then realized that he should probably wake her up. He walked over to her, pointed his wand at her and said "_Enervate." _Professor Donovan opened her eyes, and then extended her hand so Harry could help her up which he did.

"Good show Harry." she said messing up his hair affectionately. "You've got a natural talent for dueling." Harry noticed she seemed to have changed back to Angie temporarily. She then regained her composure and turned to the rest of the class. "Alright. Everyone stand up and wands out. Let's practice dueling stances. The rest of the lesson was basically practicing dueling stances. As Harry practiced with the rest of the class, he couldn't help but think how he was more interested in how she had deflected his disarming charm. Harry had seen people deflect charms with that wand movement, but had never been taught how to do it.

Once the lesson was over, everyone left except for Harry who was asked to stay by Angie. By now she had gone back to Angie. "You did good today Harry."

"Thanks. So did you. Are you going to teach us how to do that wand movement that you used to deflect my charm?"

"You don't know how? Wow, whoever tried to teach you dueling really didn't know what they were doing." Harry nodded. "I guess I'll teach that next week. You don't mind helping me with the demonstrations do you?"

"No."

"Great. You can go now." Harry however didn't move. She seemed so open and friendly with him, but there were just so many unanswered questions about her. Why had she left her home for a totally different country? Why had she come back to be a teacher? How did everyone seem to know her and her brother? Harry decided he wanted to ask her one of them, but decided to start with a simple one.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Certainly."

"Well, you were at Bill and Fleur's wedding right?" Angie nodded. "Well I just noticed that you didn't stick around after the ceremony. Did you have some place you needed to be?" The question did not have the effect he expected it to. Her expression changed and she looked away from Harry as if to hide it.

"I didn't need to be somewhere, I'm just not very good at weddings. They remind me of…" There was a pause. Then Angie looked up and Harry saw that she was on the verge of tears.

Horrified to make her cry, Harry quickly said "It's ok. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she looked up at Harry and grinned.

"No." she said. "I'm going to have to tell you some time. Might as well be now." Harry raised his eyebrows. He did not expect this to have anything to do with him. "They remind me of Lily and James."

"You knew my parents?" Angie nodded.

"Your mother was my best friend. I was the maid of honor at their wedding. When they died I just couldn't deal with the grief so I left the country." Harry why he hadn't considered this possibility before. It made perfect sense. Harry could easily see Angelica Donovan being friends with his parents. It explained why she had left the country and why she, like Sirius and Remus, had the courage to say Voldemort's name.

Harry suddenly realized that she was now really crying. Wanting to comfort her some how, he went over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "It just hurts so much to think about it. I still haven't gotten over it. I don't even have any pictures left of them." Harry searched his mind trying to find something to say or do that would somehow comfort her, but then the comment about not having any pictures of them suddenly inspired him.

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his parent's locket. "Here." he said handing it to her. Her expression changed to shock when she saw it. She snatched it and opened it and looked down at the faces Harry's teenage parents. She let out a small laugh. "I think you need it more than I do." Angie looked up at him and smiled. She then wiped away her tears with her arm, stood up and hugged him.

"Thank you Harry." she said. She then took a step back and looked at him. "Your so mature. I know a lot of people probably tell you that you're a lot like your father, but I think you're more like your mother. Now get on out of here." Harry smiled at her and left.

Harry headed back to the common-room almost at a run. When he went through the portrait-hole, he only took notice for a minute of Ron laying down on the couch his head on Hermione's lap. He headed upstairs to his room, opened his trunk and pulled out his photo album of pictures of his parents. He turned to the picture of his parents at their wedding. There they were, his father, his mother, Sirius, and sure enough, Angelica all looking up at him waving. "So that's where I've seen her before. That's it." Harry smiled to himself, but then his smile changed to a look of uncertainty. "No that's not it. I've seen her somewhere else. But where?"


	13. The McLaggen StandOff

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **Sorry I made you all wait again, but I've had more writer's block. I'm a little hesitant to write this chapter because it's chapter 13 and that's unlucky.

**Chapter 13**

**The McLaggen Stand-Off**

It was a brilliant sunny Saturday. Harry awoke in one of his best moods since his return to Hogwarts. This was for a number of reasons. First of all he was still happy about the events that had happened the previous night with Angie. Harry didn't know why, but it somehow made him happy to know that someone who had been friends with his parents was now nearby. After all, Harry rarely ever saw Lupin anymore and ever since Sirius's death, Harry had somehow felt cut-off from the world where he had almost felt like he had known his parents. Finding out that Angie was his mother's best friend filled him with hope that he might just connect to that world again, and the fact that she was his teacher was so convenient, Harry just couldn't help but get happy.

The second reason was that he had finally reached the weekend. He had no classes, and he had all weekend to work on his homework. There was also the prospect of his schoolwork, getting easier after the first week was over. He had that to look foreword to.

Finally the third reason that Harry was so happy, was the one thing that he had been looking foreword to since he had come back to Hogwarts. Quidditch tryouts. Harry had missed out on the last Quidditch match of the previous year, and ever since then, playing two on two Quidditch against Ginny who was a formidable opponent, and Hermione who just plain sucked, just didn't substitute getting out onto the Quidditch pitch and playing real Quidditch with his team. Harry had three players to replace. Katie Bell, his most experienced chaser had graduated the previous year, and both of his new beaters had been pulled out of school to go into hiding with their families. But Harry was not worried, he was just looking foreword to getting back on his broom.

When Harry entered the Great Hall, he was immediately greeted with a friendly "Good morning!" from Angie who was sitting at the staff table chatting with Hagrid. Harry found a seat across from Ginny, but did not see Ron or Hermione. When he asked Ginny if she had seen them, she said they had gone down to the Quidditch pitch early so that Ron could get in some early practice.

"But why?" Harry asked. "I'm not even going to tryout keepers this year. Ron's a great keeper. There's no need. And why's Hermione with him?"

Ginny shrugged. "I told him that, but you know how insecure Ron is about his Quidditch abilities. He said he would need to brush up on his skills so that he could defend for the chaser tryouts. He asked Hermione to play chaser for him, which is actually pretty stupid as that's not going to give him much practice." Harry nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Dean and Neville came and sat down with them and wished them both good morning, which Harry returned. "So Dean, are you going to try out for the team?"

"You bet." Dean responded enthusiastically. "I know I played chaser last year, but I thought I'd try out for beater this year. I spent the summer in America visiting cousins and I learned to play baseball. Ever heard of it?" Harry shook his head. "Well I'll spare you the details, suffice to say it involves hitting a ball with a bat, which I've gotten pretty damn good at if I do say so myself."

"What about you Neville?"

"No." Neville said sadly. "Quidditch really isn't my thing."

The four of them ate breakfast together. Harry had expected some sort of awkwardness between Dean and Ginny seeing as how they had dated briefly dated the previous year. Harry and Ginny finished breakfast first and headed down to the Quidditch pitch to get ready for tryouts. As the two of them stepped out onto the grounds, Harry felt a sudden sting of guilt when he remembered that he'd given away her birthday present to him. He had at first thought that he would keep it to himself as Angie would probably not appreciate other people knowing that she had literally cried on his shoulder, but now he felt like he should at least tell Ginny.

Once he had told her the whole story, he was both surprised and relieved that she did not get mad at all, as he had expected her to immediately shoot him with a Bat-Bogey hex which was her specialty. On the contrary, she seemed to be impressed that he had done something so noble. "Oh Harry you are so sweet." she said. She then made a move to grab Harry's hand as if to hold it while they walked along the grounds. Harry immediately jerked his had away.

"Ginny you really need to stop doing that." Harry said. "We're broken up."

"Oh no we're not." Ginny replied playfully. She continued to grab his hand all the way down to the pitch. Harry ended up having to run from her.

When they got to the pitch they found Ron already in the air on his Cleansweep defending the goal posts while Hermione stood on the ground using her wand to make the quaffle fly at him from different directions, which turned out to be a lot more effective way of practicing than having Hermione in the air on a broomstick. Harry and Ginny hung back and watched as Hermione used the banishing charm to shoot the quaffle at the left goal post. Ron, who had been expecting the right goal post, had to make a quick dash, but just made it in time to bat the quaffle away with his fist.

"He's gotten better hasn't he." Harry commented.

"He better have." said Ginny firmly. "He's been making me practice with him ever since the end of last year."

The number of people who showed up for Quidditch tryouts was actually relatively small compared to last year when almost the entire Gryffindor house had shown up, including several members of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. This time it was all Gryffindors and there weren't any first years who had no idea how to fly. Actually it was a rather small group of second to seventh years who had all tried out the previous year.

Harry decided to try out the chasers first by having them take turns shooting against Ron while he defended the goal posts. None of the players were as talented as Ginny or Demelza Robins his other chaser. In the end he ended up choosing a second year Spanish girl named Maria Ramirez. Afterwards he released the bludgers and let those try out for beaters two at a time. The very best by far was the large wiry-haired boy named Cormac McLaggen, but Harry knew that he would never let McLaggen back on the team after the incident last year when he had broken Harry's skull with a bludger. Once it was over he announced that the new beaters would be Dean Thomas, who really had gotten good at hitting balls with bats, and a new discovery named Steven Austin.

When he discovered that he had not gotten into the team, McLaggen was furious. He stormed right up to Harry and looked like he might be ready for a fight, but Harry stood his ground, not looking at all intimidated. "I outdid both of them in flying and in beating. How come I didn't get on the team?" he demanded. Everyone watched looking worried.

"Your right McLaggen, you are more skilled that the people I chose." Harry said calmly. "But I have two very good reasons that I did not pick you. First of all, it's not just about skill, but also about being able to coexist with a team, an ability that I'm afraid you lack. And then, let me think." Harry said sarcastically. "What other reason could I possibly have for not letting you on the team. Oh yeah! There was that incident last year when you BROKE MY SKULL OPEN WITH A BLUDGER!" Harry broke his calm approach which made even McLaggen jump back. "And that was when you were keeper. Imagine if it was actually your job to hit bludgers. You'd probably send the entire team to the hospital wing." Harry had been waiting a long time to say something like this to McLaggen. He had completely avoided Harry after the match in question.

The words seem to spark something inside McLaggen. He seemed to temporarily loose control and pulled back his fist to punch Harry in the face. Harry braced himself, but the punch never came. McLaggen had frozen when he realized that the entire team had systematically pulled out their wands and pointed them threateningly at him. He stood there with his fist cocked for several seconds before he finally lowered it.

"Wouldn't be so tough without your entire team backing you up." he said loudly so everyone could hear him. "How are you supposed to face You-Know-Who if you can't even take a punch?" He then tried to walk away, but Harry would not let him get the final word.

"You know what? You've got a point there. Everyone put your wands away." The team was pretty hesitant. "Put your wands away before I give you detention!" he shouted. "So you want to punch me in the face? That must be the way you deal with all your problems. You don't get what you want so you punch someone in the face." As Harry said this he unhooked his head boy badge and put it in his pocket, and took off his glasses and put them in his other pocket. "Well, here you go. Free shot."

McLaggen looked at Harry in confusion for several seconds clearly unable to believe what he was hearing. Then he eagerly walked back to Harry and re-cocked his fist to deliver the punch. Everyone looked on worriedly, but Harry was not worried. He knew that McLaggen was all talk and did not have the guts to actually punch Harry. Sure enough, McLaggen simply stood there with his fist cocked for two or three minutes without moving and then lowered his fist, turned, and left angrily muttering under his breath.

When Harry put his glasses back on, he saw that everyone was now looking at him with great admiration. Harry felt proud of himself. He had just stared down someone much bigger and stronger than him and had won. Suddenly Voldemort didn't seem like such a big deal.


	14. The Kiss

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **To be totally honest, chapter 13 didn't really go anywhere, I just wanted Harry to have some kind of revenge on Cormac McLaggen. I'm a little ashamed to admit this but not everything I write goes anywhere. Don't get me wrong, most of it does, but every once in a while I put something in just because I feel like putting it in. This isn't a criticism, but I think J.K. Rowling does this too. Just look at Peeves. Anyway, Happy 2006 to all.

**Chapter 14**

**The Kiss**

Angie had not been lying. Once the second week started, Harry and the gang constantly found themselves with more free time than usual. Harry was unable to tell weather he was actually getting less homework, or if he had somehow gotten good enough at homework from seven years experience that it just seemed that way.

Harry soon found that he was getting the hang of wand less charms almost as fast as Hermione. On one particularly memorable class, Professor Flitwick had been teaching the class how to light and extinguish a candle by waving your hand over it. Harry successfully performed this so quickly that after practicing it a few times, he got bored and decided to see what would happen if he pointed his finger hard and thought the fire-starter charm. At first it had pretty much the same effect, but when Harry concentrated to hard, he accidentally caused a large amount of fire to suddenly burst from his fingertips which immediately turned his candle into a puddle of wax and caught nearby Professor Flitwick's beard on fire. Harry was sure he had just lost his house fifty points when Flitwick smiled and said "No harm done Mr. Potter. I've been looking for an excuse to shave this thing off." The following morning Harry thought Professor Flitwick looked surprisingly youthful with no grey facial hair.

Not all subjects were a laugh though. Transfiguration was getting pretty demanding as Grubbily-Plank had started teaching them conjuring in turns with human transfiguration. They were now being taught how to conjure much bigger things than the goblets and birds they had been taught the previous year. As a teaching method, Professor Grubbily-Plank vanished all the chairs and desks from the classroom and told everyone that they could either conjure their own chairs and desks, or stand the entire class. Hermione was easily able to conjure a chair and desk that looked just like the ones that had been vanished, but Harry and Ron spent a few classes standing up. When Harry and Ron finally did conjure their chairs and desks, they were very different from Hermione's. Harry had conjured a comfortable armchair and desk that looked like they were from the Gryffindor common-room, while Ron's resembled patio furniture from the Burrow. Grubbily-Plank explained that the differences in style were due to differences in character.

While most classes were either good or bad for Harry, Potions went back and fourth. Some classes Harry was able to breeze through. Others put Harry back into the old world where he felt like he would never understand Potions, though it was never as if he was back to being taught by Snape. Harry was worried about the possibility of having another bad lesson as he walked into class a few days before the end of September, and was relieved when Professor Slughorn tapped the blackboard with his wand and the words _Polyjuice Potion_ appeared on it. "Today we will be starting our work on Polyjuice Potion." Professor Slughorn announced proudly. "Now as I'm sure you all know, Polyjuice Potion is a draught that will transform a person into someone else. It is a favorite tool of Death Eaters, which is one of the reasons it's been added to my curriculum. It is a very complicated potion that will take you all a month to make, so we will make it our first long-term project of the year. Today we will lay the groundwork, and at the end of class you will all take what you have back to your dorms with you and work on it at your leisure. The project will be due on Halloween, but you will not hand in your finished potion. Instead you will come to class on Halloween disguised as someone else in the class, and we will have a nice fun guessing game of who's who." Harry immediately felt confident about this project since he had made Polyjuice Potion before during his second year.

"Now who can tell me what the key ingredient is in Polyjuice Potion?" Before Hermione could get her hand up, Slughorn covered his eyes with his hand. He then said "Don't tell me… Miss Granger has her hand up." He pulled his hand away from his eyes and smiled proudly when he saw he was right, though it had been pretty obvious.

"Broomslang skin." said Hermione when he called on her.

"Correct. Five points. Now can you also tell me why broomslang skin is not commonly used in most potions."

"Because, if mixed improperly or with the wrong ingredients, it can be quite toxic."

"Correct again. Take another five points. Broomslang skin is a very powerful poison and cannot be cured just by a bezor." Slughorn beamed at Harry as he said this. "It does not kill a person quickly, but rather slowly and painfully, which makes it a favorite poison of You-Know-Who. Now for twenty points, who can tell me the symptoms of someone who has just been fed pure broomslang skin?"

To everyone's surprise, Hermione had to think for a few seconds before she raised her hand. "Their pupils will be dilated and their temperature will be abnormally high. They will also be totally paralyzed, and though they will be unable to show it, they will be in extreme pain."

"Very good Miss Granger. Take your twenty points. Now let's get started. You'll find instructions and ingredients on page 256 in your textbooks. Begin."

Everyone opened their books and got started on their potions. As it became closer to the end of class, Professor Slughorn started walking around the class correcting students or praising them. "Very well done Miss Granger." he said walking around the table Harry, Ron, and Hermione were seated at. "And you too Harry. Ooo. You seem to have it down too Mr. Weasly." Ron looked positively ecstatic that he had just received praise from Slughorn.

Just as the bell rang, he slipped Harry and Hermione each a rolled up piece of parchment.

"What'd he slip you?" asked Ron, sounding like he knew the answer and like he was not happy about it.

Harry unrolled the parchment and read it. "An invitation to another Slug Club party." Harry said flatly.

"Sorry Ron. No guests this time. Private members only." said Hermione.

"Good for you." Ron said unhappily. Ron seemed to get more and more grumpy throughout the day. After dinner they all returned to the common room and pulled out their homework, but Ron seemed to angry to do anything but sit there with his arms crossed occasionally shooting an angry glare at Hermione. Harry knew it would be no good to tell Ron that he had no intention of going to Slughorn's party. On the contrary, Ron seemed to want that kind of reassurance from Hermione rather than him, but Hermione was stubbornly refusing to give it to him.

After a while, Hermione broke the silence by saying "Ronald, could you please stop doing that?"

"Stop doing what?" Ron asked as if daring her to tell him what he'd been doing.

"Glaring at me as if I was doing something wrong by accepting Professor Slughorn's invitation." Harry knew instantly that she had said the wrong thing.

"So your going then?" Ron asked once again daring her to say yes.

"Why not? Slughorn's parties are enjoyable. They're good times, good contacts, good company-"

"Oh yeah good company! I'm sure Cormac McLaggen must be great company for you!" Ron was clearly raging. Several people looked up at them. Harry hung his head. He had been worried that the argument might go this direction.

"What does Cormac McLaggen have to do with anything?" Hermione asked. Clearly she had not expected this.

"What was it you said last year about really good Quidditch players?" Hermione froze. She had no answer for this. She looked both shocked, and scared and like she regretted ever saying anything. The two of them did not speak for a long while. Harry was used to their rows by now. This was the first one they had had in a long time, and it left Harry with the strange but happy feeling that things were back to normal. The silence lasted until Hermione reminded Harry that the two of them had patrol duty. Ron was totally silent as they left.

As Harry and Hermione patrolled the corridors, as they had done only once before, Hermione was completely silent. She looked like she had still not recovered from what Ron had said to her. After several minutes of silence, Harry felt the need to break it. "Hermi-" Harry started to say, but was cut off.

"I don't want to talk about Ron." she snapped at him. About ten seconds later however, she burst out "Ron is such a prat!"

"I thought you just said-"

"I mean what right does he have to talk to me about Cormac McLaggen after what he did last year with Lavender Brown? I mean if it hadn't been for that I never would have even gone out with McLaggen. It's his own damn fault!" Harry looked at Hermione. She looked on the verge of tears.

"Hermione calm down." Harry said putting his hand on her shoulder. When she looked up at him, he was reminded of Angie.

"I just thought that things would be different between me and Ron this year." Harry thought that things had been different between them until then, but he thought it was pretty naïve of her to think that the two of them would stop fighting altogether. Harry realized just then that things were not back to normal between Ron and Hermione. In the old days, she never would have gotten this upset over a fight with Ron. Things were changing between them, and Harry decided it was stupid to worry about change. He would just have to deal with it.

The rest of the patrol passed without incident. When Harry and Hermione returned to the common room however, they were both surprised to see that it was empty except for Ron who was waiting up for them. When they walked in, Ron immediately stood up and walked toward Hermione and the two of them seemed to engage in some kind of starring contest. Harry got the distinct impression that he should leave them alone. Harry went upstairs to his dorm and left them alone.

* * *

Ron and Hermione looked at each other for several minutes without talking. Ron finally broke the silence. "Hermione… I'm sorry. I had no right… after last year…" Ron trailed off.

"It's ok." Hermione said. "I probably shouldn't have been talking about the party like that in front of you knowing you can't go."

"I just wish I could go with you." Ron said sadly. "To… you know… be with you." Hermione let show a small smile that was both sad and happy at the same time. She then put her arms around him, and gave him a soft kiss on the mouth.


	15. The Return of Draco

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **Ok for those of you that have my story on your alert list, you probably got a bunch of e-mails. What happened was I realized that one of the chapters was in the wrong place, so I had to delete it and then to put it back in, I deleted all the chapters after it and added them again. Sorry about that. Of course it was only after I deleted all the chapters that I realized I didn't need to do all of that stuff. For those of you who don't know, if you have a chapter out of place, you can click the edit button. Anyway, this next chapter is when the action really picks up.

**Chapter 15**

**The Return of Draco**

Hermione had kissed Ron. Harry knew it the second he saw Ron the next morning, and he didn't need Legillimency. He could tell just by looking at Ron's face. Not in the sense that Ron was acting happier, or different in any way, but because Ron had neglected to wipe off Hermione's lipstick which had smeared on his face. When Harry pointed this out to him, he went even redder than his hair, something Harry would not have thought possible if he hadn't seen it for himself. He then immediately retreated back upstairs to wash it off. Harry could have easily teased him about it or at least asked him what it was, but Harry thought better of it. He could respect the fact that Ron wanted to keep something like that to himself, as there were two or three things that Harry kept to himself. He had still not told Ron or Hermione about the memory he had seen of his parents during his fifth year. Harry figured that Ron would tell him when he was ready.

Harry was oddly quiet toward Ron and Hermione for most of that day. He could simply not decide weather Ron and Hermione becoming more than just friends was a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand there was the disturbing prospect of having to watch them constantly snogging every moment they were together which was already most of the time. Harry had been uncomfortable enough being around Ron while he had been dating Lavender Brown. Harry could only imagine how uncomfortable it would be if it was Hermione he was snogging. This was coupled with the even more disturbing prospect that if Ron and Hermione tried dating and ended up breaking up they would probably never speak to each other again and force Harry to take sides.

Then there was the other side of the coin. All throughout the day Harry could see Ron and Hermione looking at each other. Harry didn't know how or when it had happened, but it was clear that somehow, over the course of their friendship, Ron and Hermione had developed feelings for each other. Harry didn't know how deep these feeling ran, but he was sure they were very strong feelings, and Harry knew that if they were really in love with each other then they should get together. If they spent the rest of their lives pretending that those feeling didn't exist, it would end badly, though Harry could really not think of a scenario where it would end goodly.

By the end of the day though Harry had something else on his mind besides Ron and Hermione. The DA meeting. DA meetings had been taking place every Friday since the beginning of the term, and they had been getting better and trickier each week. Professor Donovan was taking them through more and more advanced dueling. She had taught them how to deflect unfriendly spells with the interesting wand movement that Lockheart had apparently tried to show them second year but had dropped his wand in the attempt. She then taught them how to move their feet, as it is important to circle your opponent during a duel. Today she started by telling the class that it was not just skills from Defense Against the Dark Arts that could help you in dueling, but also spells from Charms and Transfiguration. She then called upon Harry for another demonstration duel.

Harry took the usual dueling position and as soon as Professor Donovan shouted "Duel." Harry shouted "_Impedimenta!" _and fired the jinx at his teacher. To block this, Professor Donovan performed an impressive bit of transfiguration by conjuring a shield out of mid air that easily blocked the Impediment Jinx. She then vanished the shield, pointed her wand at Harry and said "_Lumos Maxima!"_ which emitted a light so bright it blinded Harry, giving Professor Donovan enough time to shout "_Expeliamus"_ which caused Harry's wand to shoot out from his hand. Professor Donovan had won.

"You see?" she said to the class once it was over. "What I just did may have been a little extreme for that particular situation, but it did demonstrate how a well thought of charm or a quick conjure can save your life. You just need to know what to use and when. Improvisation. Make it up as you go." Professor Donovan spent the rest of the lesson talking about improvisation and letting students practice it. It was another great lesson.

* * *

That weekend brought something that everyone had been looking forward to, the first Hogsmede weekend. That morning everyone was bundled up for the cold day but talking excitedly about the upcoming day of fun. When Harry sat down in the great hall for breakfast across from Ginny, who was engaging in one of her favorite pastimes, trying to play footsies with him, he couldn't help but wonder why Ron and Hermione had both taken an unusually longer time to get ready. When Hermione finally showed up, Harry was surprised to see that her normally wild and bushy hair seemed to have been straightened and tied back into a ponytail. "What's the occasion Hermione?" Harry asked when she sat down next to Ginny.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I thought you said it was to much work to do that kind of thing with your hair every day."

"I don't do it every day."

"Yeah I know but why today?" Hermione blushed.

"Oh, no special reason. I just felt like doing it this morning." Harry got the idea that she wasn't telling the truth, but he had a pretty good idea of what the truth was. Ron showed up shortly afterwards also looking like he had taken more than the usual care of his appearance.

"What took you so long?" Harry asked pretending like he didn't notice his cleaned hair or his too much cologne.

"I got up last and had to wait in line for the shower. We don't all have our own private bathrooms." He then turned his attention to Hermione. "Morning Hermione. You er… look nice." Now they were both blushing. Harry and Ginny exchanged a look that said they both understood what was going on between Ron and Hermione.

As the four of them headed down the grounds to the path that led to the village of Hogsmede, Ginny pulled Harry aside and whispered in his ear "Let's get away from them once we get into the village. You know, give them some time alone." Harry nodded his agreement. Once the four of them got to Hogsmede, Ginny told what sounded like a well prepared lie about Harry promising to show her the Shrieking Shack, and the two of them took off leaving a confused but grateful Ron and Hermione.

Once they had made it to the Shrieking Shack however, Harry realized something that he suddenly felt extremely foolish for not having realized immediately. He was now alone with Ginny. Knowing Ginny, she had probably been planning this ever since she realized that Hermione and Ron were becoming more than friends. Soon, as Harry could have and really should have easily predicted, Ginny was grabbing his hand or his waist trying to get him to engage in some kind of public display of affection. Harry knew from the previous year when Ginny had dated Dean how much she seemed to enjoy public displays of affection.

"Ginny stop that!" Harry said after what must have been the tenth attempt by Ginny to grab his hand.

"Oh all right." Ginny said disappointedly. "Oops, I think I dropped a knut." She then bent over and pretended to search for the coin. Harry only wondered what she was doing for a second before he realized that from this angle he had a full up close view of her sexy butt. Harry was unable to avert his eyes for several seconds but finally forced himself to turn away. It wasn't until then that he saw it. Red sparks that had been fired into the air from the nearby forest.

Those red sparks had been fired from the wand of a wizard. Harry knew that immediately. "Why does a wizard send up red sparks?" he asked himself. The answer was so simple. "Because they're in trouble." Harry didn't think about it twice, in fact he had barely thought about it once before he totally forgot about everything else, even the pretty young red haired girl who was bending over merely inches away from him. He ran for the forest.

Harry ran as fast as his legs could carry him into the forest until he got to the spot where he was sure the sparks had been fired from. He had been expecting to find one of his fellow classmates or possibly a Hogsmede villager being attacked by a Death Eater or some kind of dark creature, so he was both relieved and disappointed when he arrived and found no such thing. Harry looked around and saw no one. "Who sent up the red sparks?" he wondered. Then a horrible possibility occurred to him. "What if it was a trap?"

Harry pulled out his wand and held it above his head looking around waiting for anyone or anything to jump out and attack him. Harry now even felt even more foolish for rushing away from Ginny into the woods where someone could easily kill him and there would be no witnesses and his body would probably not be found for days. Had he learned nothing from the trap in the Ministry of Magic two years ago?

After a few more minutes of waiting, Harry decided that if this was a trap, he'd better not wait around for whatever it was to get him. Harry turned around and headed out the way he had come and after walking a foot or two, he tripped over what he thought was a log. When he turned to look at it though, he had the horrifying, but disturbingly familiar realization that he had just tripped over a body. And not just any body. Harry saw now that he had tripped over the totally limp body of none other than Draco Malfoy.

Harry could do nothing but stare at the apparently dead body that lay before him. Malfoy did not appear to be breathing but his eyes and mouth were both wide open. He was wearing all black robes that Harry recognized as the robes of Death Eaters, though they were torn and tattered. He was so entranced by the sight before him that he didn't even hear Ginny calling his name as she found her way toward him. She tried to get his attention for only a few seconds before she too saw the horrifying sight that lay before them. After another few seconds of staring, Harry bent down and touched Malfoy's hand to discover that it was not cold and clammy like a dead body should be (Harry shuddered as he remembered Cedric Diggory) but rather warm as if Malfoy had been out in the sun for several hours. Harry then remembered something Hermione had said in Potions class on Thursday that had earned her twenty points and immediately checked Draco's eyes. They were dilated.

"Ginny he's alive!" Harry said loudly which startled Ginny greatly. "He's been poisoned by broomslang skin. We've got to get him back to school to the hospital wing." Harry's mind was formulating a plan so fast, he had one before he was even conscious of making one. "Ginny listen to me. I'm going to apparate him as close to Hogwarts as I can get him and take him up to the hospital wing. You find Professor McGonagall and tell her. She might be in the village, or she might be in her office I don't know but you need to find her." Harry was grateful that Ginny did not ask any questions or make any protests. She simply nodded and headed off.

Harry then grabbed Malfoy's arm and apparated right outside the gates of Hogwarts. He then pulled out his wand and conjured a stretcher and placed Malfoy on top of it. Then he thought "_Locomortor Stretcher"_ and snapped his fingers. The stretcher levitated a few feat into the air. Harry headed into the castle at a power walk so that the stretcher could keep up with him. Harry was glad that Hagrid was not there to meet him as Hagrid would probably object to Malfoy being brought back into the castle. Harry made his way uninterrupted into the entrance hall. He made his way up the stairs to the corridor he knew led to the hospital wing. It was then that he was stopped by a worried and surprised sounding female voice saying "Draco!"

Harry turned and saw one of the last people he wanted to see, Pansy Parkinson running up to him. "Parkinson? What are you-" However Harry was cut off when he realized that Parkinson had already looked from Malfoy to Harry and reached the conclusion that he had been afraid she would reach. She quickly pulled out her wand, but Harry was to quick for her. By the time she had her wand out and had made to point it at him, he already had his wand pointed at her and thought "_Expelliamus"_ which made the wand shoot from her hand. She immediately made to grab the wand, but Harry snapped his fingers with his left hand and thought "_Accio wand"_ and her wand shot through the air into his hand without even touching the ground. He then pointed both wands threateningly at her. "Look Parkinson, Malfoy's been poisoned. I'm taking him to the hospital wing. If you want to help him, the best way to do that is to get out of my way."

Harry turned around and headed toward the hospital wing, and Pansy hesitantly followed him. Harry arrived and went straight to Madam Pomfrey and said "Madam Pomfrey, I've got a student who has been poisoned by pure broomslang skin." Madam Pomfrey hesitated for only a second before she pulled Malfoy onto a bed and began to treat him. First she cast a spell on him that had an unknown effect. She then went into her office and came back with a vial of green potion that she emptied into Draco's mouth.

"Potter!" she said turning to Harry, and pulling out another vial of the same green potion. "Keep an eye on him. I need to go make an antidote. If his temperature goes up again, pour this in his mouth and come into my office and tell me." She then handed Harry the vial and fled toward her office, but Parkinson stopped her.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked hysterically.

"He is going to be fine dear." Madam Pomfrey said putting her hand on Pansy's shoulder. "Potter got him here just in time." She then left.

Harry pulled up a chair next to Malfoy's bed and felt his forehead. It was warm, but not as warm as it had been mere seconds ago. Pansy walked over to Malfoy's bed and grabbed his hand. She looked distraught and about to cry. "Potter…" she said slowly turning to Harry. "You saved him. Even after last year you saved him." Harry was unsure if this was a question or not so he simply nodded. After a few more seconds of silence she finally said "Thank you."


	16. The Cup of Hufflepuff

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **And now that we've gone up the first hill of this roller coaster, we will now be going down our first big plunge. Brace yourselves. As the shrunken head in the third movie says "Fasten your seatbelts, and clench your buttocks. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

**Chapter 16**

**The Cup of Hufflepuff**

Harry and Pansy sat together next to Malfoy's unconscious body for several minutes in total silence. Pansy would not let go of Malfoy's hand. Although Harry was sure she would tell him if Malfoy's hand got warmer, he periodically checked the temperature by feeling Malfoy's forehead. Harry thought it was an extremely odd position he was in at the moment. Here he was playing nurse to the one person he thought would always be his enemy, sitting across from his enemy's girlfriend who had just wholeheartedly thanked him for saving her boyfriend's life. The look she had given him was not a look Harry had never been on the receiving end of before, it was just a look he would never have thought he would have seen on the face of Pansy Parkinson.

Harry looked down at the sad still body of the seventeen-year-old boy with greasy blonde hair. Malfoy had not moved an inch since Harry had found him in the woods. Harry wondered briefly what the rest of the world would say if they knew that he had found the dieing body of Draco Malfoy who was a known supporter of Voldemort, had let Death Eaters into the school only a year ago, and had spent the better part of a decade trying to make Harry's already difficult life even more difficult, and Harry had decided to bring him to the hospital wing and save his life. Harry could hear the voices of no one in particular asking "Why did you rescue him? He doesn't deserve to be rescued. His father's a Death Eater, and for that matter he's a Death Eater!"

"Everyone deserves to be rescued." Harry thought firmly. "And the day I stop believing it is the day I become like Voldemort. His father's a Death Eater? Well my father was an arrogant prat who liked to hang people upside down by their legs and take off their pants in front of a group of people just for kicks. The point being that it's not always like father like son. And from what I've seen Malfoy is a very reluctant Death Eater. He didn't have the nerve to kill Dumbledore last year, and I have seen with my own eyes Draco crying his eyes out confessing to Moaning Myrtle that he had to do Voldemort's bidding or else he would be killed."

Just then, Madam Pomfrey came out of her office carrying a cauldron full of a strange smelling, purple, bubbling liquid that Harry could only assume was the antidote. She conjured a funnel and stuck it into Malfoy's mouth and then poured a ladle full of potion into it. It occurred to Harry that the spell she cast on Malfoy when he first arrived must have been some charm that allowed liquid to slide down someone's throat without them having to swallow. She did this several more times until she finally had to turn the cauldron upside down to get every single last drop into the funnel. Some of the liquid was still clinging to the funnel so she forced it down the hole with her wand. She then vanished the funnel and stood back looking at Malfoy. "Should be coming out of it any second now." she said. Pansy and Harry both turned to look expectantly back at Malfoy. Sure enough Malfoy slowly began to stir.

Malfoy made a noise that sounded like a groan. His eyes opened slowly. He didn't look at anyone but rather stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds as if trying to decide if he was dead or not. When he seemed to realize that he was in the Hogwarts hospital wing, he propped himself up slightly with his arms and looked at the three people staring back at him. His eyes almost immediately locked on his girlfriend and her name escaped his lips. Pansy instantly looked as if she was about to cry of happiness and she ran over to Draco and hugged him, which he returned without hesitation and muttered something in her ear. Harry only caught "…thought I'd never see you again…" When they pulled out of the hug, Malfoy asked "How did I get here?"

"Harry brought you here." Pansy replied motioning toward Harry whom Malfoy hadn't seemed to notice. Harry expected Malfoy to look angry at the sight of him or at least surprised and disgusted at the prospect that Harry had saved his life. Malfoy however simply starred at Harry not looking like he had taken in what Pansy had just said. He then hung his head and put it in his hand giving the impression that he had no idea what was going on.

It was just then that the doors of the hospital wing burst open and Professor McGonagall stormed into the room looking livid followed by Ginny. She marched directly to the bed where Malfoy lay and glared at him. "I had to see it to believe it." she said sound positively astounded and also quite pissed. "Draco Malfoy, back in Hogwarts." She then turned toward Harry looking just as angry. "Explain yourself Potter!"

"Erm… well I found him in the woods-"

"Yes Ms. Weasly already told me that part. Why did you bring him to the school?"

"Well he was poisoned."

Professor McGonagall hung her head and put her hands on it looking totally frustrated. "Potter let me ask you something. When you saved the Sorcerers Stone you first year, did you from that moment on decide that everything and everyone that needs rescuing must be rescued by you? Did you simply bring him into this school without stopping to think that the last time he was inside this school he let Death Eaters in? Would you honestly put it past the Dark Lord to poison one of his followers just to get them inside Hogwarts? Do you honestly think it was a coincidence that he appeared in the woods in Hogsmede right near where you were?"

"I was where?" Malfoy suddenly cut in.

"The woods in Hogsmede." Professor McGonagall responded firmly. "And don't pretend like you don't already know." Harry however could tell from the look of utter surprise on Malfoy's face that he wasn't lying.

"Professor, he's got no wand and he was paralyzed. There's not much he could do." Harry said.

"Well he seems fine now." she said disdainfully. "And unless you've learned nothing this year, you should know that you don't always need a wand to do magic."

"You don't?" Malfoy cut in again. Harry could tell just by the sound of his voice that Malfoy wasn't lying, although now he wasn't looking at anyone else besides Professor McGonagall.

"Oh shut up Malfoy!" she snapped at him.

"No." Malfoy shot back. "I'm not working for the Dark Lord anymore. He killed my mother and tried to kill me." The horrified look on Professor McGonagall's face gave her away. Harry's suspicions were instantly confirmed.

"ENOUGH!" she screamed. "Everyone out!" Harry, and Ginny made for the exit. Pansy tried to argue, but after another shout, she followed them out.

"I've never seen Professor McGonagall like that." Ginny commented as they made for the common room.

"That wasn't Professor McGonagall." Harry said confidently once Pansy had left them. He was now walking much faster than Ginny who had to jog to keep up.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I think it's a Death Eater using Polyjuice Potion. And I think I know which Death Eater but I need to be sure." If Harry had looked at Ginny, he would have seen that she was both confused and intrigued, but Harry was focusing on getting back to the common room. He needed to get up to his dormitory and consult the one thing that wouldn't be fooled by Polyjuice Potion.

When Harry reached the common room he quickly headed upstairs to his private dorm followed closely by Ginny. Neither of them took notice of the many people snickering about the two of them going up to the boy's dormitories together. Once they got to the Head Boy dorm, Harry opened his trunk and pulled out a blank piece of parchment and tapped it with his wand saying "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Instantly the Marauder's Map appeared, the large map of the entire school of Hogwarts that identified every single person inside the castle with a small dot with their name written just above it. Harry's eyes immediately darted toward the area he knew was the hospital wing where he found three dots. One was Draco Malfoy, one was Poppy Pomfrey, and one was… Bellatrix Lestrange. "I knew it." Harry said triumphantly.

"Oh my goodness." Ginny said looking down at the map. "What is this thing?" Harry suddenly realized that he had never actually told Ginny about the Marauder's Map, so he gave her a quick explanation of how he'd gotten it and what it did. "How did you know?" she asked sounding both surprised and impressed.

"One" Harry counted off on his fingers, "she's now referring to Voldemort as The Dark Lord. Two, in the hospital wing she referenced my saving the Sorcerer's Stone as what started my saving-people-thing, when Professor McGonagall knows perfectly well that it started long before that when Ron and I saved Hermione from a Mountain Troll. Third, Malfoy's mother is Lestrange's sister and when he said his mother was dead, she cared a lot more than Professor McGonagall would have." After a few seconds of silence where Ginny stared at Harry looking deeply impressed, Harry broke their gaze and said "Speaking of which, where is Professor McGonagall? She must still be alive and being kept inside the school."

Harry and Ginny both scanned the map for a few seconds before Ginny pointed at a spot on the map and said "There she is!" Harry looked as saw that Professor McGonagall was being held in a room just above the headmaster's office that Harry had never been in before but assumed it was the headmaster's living quarters. As Harry looked at the map, the horror of the situation settled around him. If Bellatrix Lestrange was successfully impersonating Professor McGonagall, that meant that she was now head of the Order of the Phoenix, she was in charge of Hogwarts, and she was a murderer who was in close proximity to hundreds of children including himself. Harry could not believe that the entire school hadn't gone into total mayhem. One thing was clear though. Harry had no hope of battling Bellatrix Lestrange on his own. He needed to free Professor McGonagall.

"Ginny, you fill in Ron and Hermione. I've got to go." Harry then reached into his trunk and pulled out his invisibility cloak which he threw on and headed back down to the common room, not even hearing Ginny's questions and worried warnings having gone back into Harry-mode. He was lucky enough that Lavender Brown and Dean Thomas came through the portrait hole at just the right moment and he was able to exit unnoticed. He ran as fast as he could toward the headmaster's office silencing his footsteps with his wand as he ran. Once he reached the stone gargoyle, he quickly said "_Feroverto"_ and the gargoyle jumped aside and allowed him access to the office. Harry headed through the familiar office past the desk to the staircase beyond it which he had never gone up. At the top, was a door which Harry opened to discover a small, plain-looking bedroom. The only real decoration of the room was the bed, a mirror which hung on the wall, two large crates against the wall opposite the bed, and in the corner looking stiff and rigid was Professor McGonagall apparently in a full body bind.

Harry quickly pulled out his wand and said the counter curse to the full body bind causing Professor McGonagall to crumple to the floor. "Are you all right Professor?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine Potter." she said standing back up and regaining her composure. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you Professor. Come on let's go. She could be back here any minute." To Harry's surprise, Professor McGonagall just stood there with her arms crossed and sighed.

"I should have known that you'd figure it out Potter, and that you'd do what you always do come here to rescue me without thinking about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Potter you know that Bellatrix Lestrange is a murderer who would kill everyone in the school without hesitation don't you?"

"Yeah that's why I came to get you" Harry was starting to get impatient now.

"Potter you must understand that the only thing keeping Bellatrix Lestrange from killing people is that she is successfully pretending to be me. And I cannot fight her Potter. She is to powerful for me and for you."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We're just going to have to accept that she is head of Hogwarts for the time being. Don't worry about the Order. I am secret-keeper but she hasn't been able to get the location from me yet. In fact, you can tell someone in the Order so they can take the necessary measures. Ok Potter?"

Harry considered her for a moment. "Ok Professor."

"Good. Now petrify me again." Professor McGonagall walked over to the corner and stood so that once petrified, she would fall into the corner the way he had found her. Harry hesitantly pointed his wand at her and said "_Petrificus Totalus" _causing Professor McGonagall to go stiff and rigid again and fall into the corner.

Harry was about to leave, when he heard the sound of someone coming into the office below. He quickly covered himself with the invisibility cloak and stood in the corner of the room where he would be less likely to be discovered. The fake Professor McGonagall walked into the room and immediately opened one of the crates against the wall from which she took out a small bottle of bluish green liquid that she drank in one gulp. Harry guessed that it must be an antidote for Polyjuice Potion because a few seconds later she had transformed from the older Professor McGonagall, to the younger but evil Bellatrix Lestrange. She then walked over to the mirror that hung on the wall and starred at her own reflection for a few seconds. Harry was glad to see that she had left the door open and was about to make a break for it, but stopped when he heard her say "My lord, I must speak with you." Harry looked back to see who she was talking to and felt a great sting of horror as he saw the reflection of Bellatrix Lestrange transform into the inhuman snake-like face of Voldemort.

"Yes my dear Bella?" the face in the mirror said. Harry realized that it must be a two-way mirror, like the one Sirius had given him before he died. Harry froze on the spot thinking maybe he would hear something he could use.

"Draco Malfoy has just arrived at Hogwarts."

"Really?" Voldemort only sounded mildly surprised. "How did he get there?"

"Harry Potter found him in the woods near Hogsmede. He claims that he has no memory of how he got there."

"Of course he has no memory. Once he drank the broomslang skin, I doubt he was capable of thinking about anything except the blinding pain." Voldemort smiled. "He could not have escaped on his own. He must have had assistance. I will have to look into that."

"He also claims that you killed Narcissa." Bellatrix sounded scared to hear the answer.

"Alas that is true as well. Though to be fair, I did not intend to kill her. She threw herself in the path of my killing curse. One might say that she killed herself." Lestrange looked horrified.

"But why my lord?"

"I suppose I should tell the entire story. You see when Draco Malfoy arrived at my lair, I was of course angry at him for failing to kill Dumbledore as I instructed him to. However, he did succeed in the other task I set before him which ultimately led to the death of Dumbledore, so I rewarded him by letting his failure slide. However it became apparent to me later on that young Draco lacked the necessary nerve to kill or use other dark arts. The boy is a spoiled brat and would never make a good Death Eater. Furthermore he often voices the opinion that I should develop a plan to help his father escape from Azkaban. He does not realize that I already have such a plan."

"You do?" Voldemort smiled again.

"Yes Bella. It is a plan that involves having one of my followers getting sent to Azkaban where they can procure a magical item with witch they can overthrow the aurors and set free all of my followers."

"What magical item is that?"

"Come now Bella. You must remember the object I gave you shortly before I fell from power. The cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff." Harry's heart skipped a beat. He was extremely glad that he had stayed. He was about to discover the location of one of the Horcruxes. "It is still in Azkaban isn't it?" Harry's heart sank.

"Yes of course my lord." Lestrange sounded eager to please. "Hidden in my own cell by a dark enchantment that can only be passed by someone who possesses the dark mark."

"Yes very good. The only reason I have not put this plan into effect yet is that I think that my followers deserve a little more time in Azkaban. Lucious Malfoy on the other hand has failed me one to many times and is beyond any hope of forgiveness from me. The next time I see poor old Lucious he will be on the receiving end of a killing curse.

"Sadly young Draco overheard me telling this fact to another one of my followers, at which point he turned mutinous and attempted to curse me." Voldemort chuckled slightly. "Foolish boy. If he could not kill Dumbledore, what made him think he could kill me. I was then prepared to give him the usual punishment, but sadly his even more foolish mother jumped in the way of the killing curse. I am sorry for your loss Bella and I hope that your faithfulness is not at all shaken."

"Of course not master. If she was foolish enough to think that she could defy you, then she deserved death." Harry was disgusted. How could anyone think that way about their sister? Voldemort of course smiled.

"Very good Bella. It is nice to know that I can always trust you."

"But master, there is still one thing I do not understand. Why did you have to poison Draco?"

"Because dear Bella, his poor, stupid mother died to save his life. This gave him the same protection that Harry Potter's mother gave her son. If I had attempted another killing curse I would have fallen from power again. So I simply had him drink some broomslang skin which should have given him a more befitting slow and painful death, but it seems he was saved from that."

"What would you have me do with him my lord. I can kill him for you if you like."

"No Bella that might compromise your fake identity. Speaking of which, how is that going?"

"Very well my lord. The longer lasting Polyjuice Potion that Severus invented is working quite well. But what shall I do with him?"

"Do what McGonagall would do. Send an owl to the Ministry and have them arrest him and take him to Azkaban."

"It will be done my lord."

Harry didn't need to hear any more. He crept out of the room, down the stairs and out of the office without a sound. Once he was outside the office, he broke into a run. In his mind he was forming a plan. He would have to stop off in the library and copy something down. He hadn't finished the entire plan yet, but one thing was for certain. Malfoy was not going to Azkaban. Harry was.

**Author's Note: **CLIFFHANGER! Sorry it took so long for me to update, but a lot has happened in the past few days, and if you haven't noticed, this is a long chapter.


	17. Azkaban

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **Okay I just realized a mistake I made. Well actually I've realized a bunch of mistakes I've been making since starting this story. Ron and Hermione should have been with Harry at his Aunt and Uncle's house, Cormac McLaggen should have graduated and so on. Please just ignore these. They do not effect the story much. However I would like to take notice of a certain mistake. I meant for more time to elapse between chapters 14 and 15. I accidentally made it sound like everything was happening over a few days. Three weeks have past since Hermione kissed Ron.

**Chapter 17**

**Azkaban**

"It's dangerous." said Hermione.

"It's mental!" said Ron.

"It's brilliant!" said Ginny. Ron and Hermione both looked at her as if she was crazy.

Harry had just gotten back to the Gryffindor common room and brought Ron, Hermione, and Ginny up to his room where he had told them everything he had seen. He then told them his plan to get to Azkaban where he could acquire the horcrux and destroy it.

"Harry there must be another way." said Hermione concernedly after hearing Harry's plan.

"I don't think there is Hermione." Harry responded darkly.

"But what about-"

"He's right Hermione." Ginny chimed in. "How often does an opportunity like this come up? This is going to be his only chance to get into Azkaban and he's got to get that horcrux and destroy it." Hermione looked defeated.

"So are you going to help me then?" Ron and Hermione looked at each other, then both looked back at Harry and nodded.

By now it was late at night. Harry had missed dinner so that he could spy on Bellatrix Lestrange, but now Harry was just not thinking about food. The plan had to be put into action as soon as possible in order for it to work. Right away Harry went upstairs to grab everything he needed followed by Ron and Hermione who got underneath the invisibility cloak with him.

Ginny opened the portrait hole door so the three of them could head out. Their first destination was the seventh floor corridor where there hung a large tapestry of trolls trying to do ballet. They walked up and down this corridor three times all thinking "We need a jail cell where we can keep Malfoy." When they opened their eyes the door leading to the Room of Requirement had appeared. When Harry opened it, he saw that there was another door behind it that was already opened, but it was a door of a jail cell, and a key was sticking out of the keyhole. The three of them walked in and examined the room. It contained a cot, a toilet, and a small tray and chair. The tray had a plate on it.

"What's this?" Hermione asked walking over to the tray with the plate on it. No sooner had she touched the plate then a sandwich appeared out of thin air. "Oh Harry this is perfect. We won't have to bring Malfoy food."

"Great." said Harry making for the sandwich. "I haven't eaten since breakfast." Harry picked up the sandwich and took a large bite out of it. Once he swallowed the first bite, he looked distastefully at the sandwich and said "It's not that good. Perfect for Malfoy. All right, Hermione you stay here and guard the room. Ron let's go get him."

Harry and Ron donned the invisibility cloak and headed for the hospital wing where they found Malfoy fast asleep. Harry stepped out of the invisibility cloak, walked up to Malfoy and pulled out one of his hairs which woke him with a start. "Good evening Malfoy." Harry said.

"Potter! What the bloody hell are you doing here?" asked Malfoy.

"I'm going to Azkaban instead of you. Take off you robe." Malfoy at first did nothing but stare at Harry totally confused. "Do it!" Harry said threateningly pointing his wand at him. "You know I'm getting pretty good at human transfiguration. If you can't shut up and do what I say maybe I should just turn you into something that can be more easily controlled. Like maybe a ferret." Malfoy hesitantly took off his robe and handed it to Harry who put it on.

"That's not going to fool them you know."

"You think?" Harry replied sarcastically. "Now get under the cloak. Ron's going to take you somewhere you can be kept safe." Malfoy's attention turned to Ron who was standing with the cloak draped around him so that his head and the middle part of his body were visible, but his shoulders, arms and legs were not.

"You have an invisibility cloak?"

"Did I say you could ask questions? Now get under the damn cloak. Ron keep your wand on him." Ron nodded.

Malfoy walked up to Ron who draped the cloak around them both. Harry got up onto Malfoy's hospital bed. As he did, he heard Malfoy's voice near the entrance asking "Where are you taking me?" followed by Ron saying "Shhhh." It then registered with Harry that Malfoy had put up no fight and very small protest. He wondered if seeing his mother die had taken all the fight out of him, or if he was simply too tired from the agonizing pain he had suffered earlier that day to care about anything else. Either way, Harry was not worried.

Once he was settled on the hospital bed, Harry put on Malfoy's Death Eater robe. Malfoy had been wearing all black underneath it, so Harry had been sure to change into a black shirt and black pants beforehand. He was sure that as far as cloths went, he was indistinguishable from Malfoy. Harry then pulled out the Marauder's Map and checked it. Bellatrix Lestrange was in the headmaster's office apparently sitting behind the desk. Harry wondered weather or not she had already sent the owl to the Ministry of Magic. His guess was that the Ministry would get one of the Aurors stationed in Hosmede to escort him to Azkaban.

Harry suddenly realized how tired he was. It had been a particularly busy day. Bellatrix Lestrange was doing nothing interesting so he tried to keep himself awake by watching other parts of the map. Sadly, it was late and all the students had already gone to bed. He saw that Ron and Hermione were already heading back to the common room where Ginny was waiting up for them. The three of them seemed to engage in conversation for about ten minutes before they all went to bed.

Soon Harry had to fight to stay awake. Lestrange stayed in her office moving a little every so often, but doing nothing interesting. Harry tried watching Filch patrol the corridors. He was slightly amused when Filch was attacked by Peeves who was, as far as Harry could tell, bouncing around the room while Filch gave chase. Soon however, the fun died down and Harry was left to force himself to stay awake.

Harry was suddenly relieved to see a new dot enter the castle labeled Nymphadora Tonks heading for the headmaster's office. "Perfect." Harry thought. Tonks was the perfect person to escort him to Azkaban. Tonks went into the headmaster's office where she talked with Lestrange for only a minute before the two of them left and headed for the hospital wing. Harry immediately tapped the map with his wand and muttered "Mischief managed." Instantly the map was transformed into just a blank piece of parchment which Harry pocketed. Harry then reached into his other pocket and pulled out his vial of Polyjuice Potion which he had finished only two days ago. He pulled out the cork and added the hair that he had plucked from Malfoy to it. "Sorry Professor Slughorn" he thought as he held his nose and downed the gross mud-like substance. Harry then vanished the vial, slipped his wand down his sleeve in case they checked his pockets, and laid down on the bed to feign sleep.

It only took Tonks and the fake Professor McGonagall ten minutes to get to the hospital wing and by that time Harry had completely transformed into Draco Malfoy. Harry pretended that the doors bursting open had woken him up from a pleasant sleep. When he saw the fake Professor McGonagall he had no problem giving her a look of disdain that he was sure Malfoy would have given her. When he saw Tonks however, it took every bit of self control he had not to laugh. Her hair had been turned blue and was piled up at least two feet above her head. It was by far the most ridiculous haircut Harry had ever seen, but he knew he might give himself away if he burst out laughing as he was very tempted to do.

"Good evening Mr. Malfoy." said Lestrange in a disdainful voice. Harry returned a glare right back to her, but inside he was smiling. It had worked. Allow me to introduce Ms. Tonks. She will be escorting you to Azkaban." Harry turned to Tonks who was smiling for some reason. Harry wanted badly to laugh but he thought it would be much more Malfoy to say something rude.

"What the bloody hell is up with your hair?" he asked with a distasteful look on his face. Harry heard Malfoy's voice coming out of his mouth and became even more confident that his plan was working. Tonks however took no notice of the rudeness.

"Do you like it?" she asked as if he had just complimented her. "I got the idea from this muggle television show with yellow people in it." The fake Professor McGonagall gave Tonks a stern look and she changed her tone. Harry scowled when he thought that Tonks must have no idea that Bellatrix Lestrange was right in front of her. "Right." said Tonks as she reached into her robes and pulled out a pair of metal shackles. "These are bewitched shackles." she said to Harry. "Once you put them on you cannot do magic of any kind, which means you cannot apparate so don't try it once we get off the grounds." She then fit the shackles around Harry's wrists and pulled out her wand motioning for him to walk ahead of her. Harry did so and she led him out of the hospital wing. The fake Professor McGonagall bid them both goodnight and left while the two of them headed down the different stairs.

On their way down Tonks got her foot caught in the vanishing step that Harry had once gotten stuck in and almost gotten caught by Snape. Harry decided that since Tonks didn't know Malfoy, there was no reason to act differently so he helped her out of it. However, Harry knew not to tell her who he really was until they got to their destination. The two of them walked down the grounds to the gate, which Tonks opened and they stepped out. She then instructed him to grab her arm which he did and the two of them apparated.

After the familiar, uncomfortable feeling of being squeezed through a very small rubber tube, Harry opened his eyes to find himself in a forest. Tonks led him toward an area where the forest ended to a large lake, where she walked him out on a jetty where a small boat waited for them. She motioned for him to get on the boat which he did while she got in the back, stuck her wand in the water and they took off.

The sun was starting to come up. As Harry sat at the front of the boat, he gazed over the edge of the boat curious to see if he could see beneath the surface, but he couldn't. "If your thinking of jumping out and trying to swim, I wouldn't recommend it. First of all I doubt you could swim with your hands shackled together like that. Not to mention if you jumped in the water, you might upset the leviathans.

Harry turned to Tonks. "What's a leviathan?" he asked.

Almost on cue, he heard the sound of something very large emerging from the water. Harry turned and saw the head of a giant sea serpent raising up in the air, making an arc, and then coming back down into the water. "That's a leviathan." said Tonks. Harry gaped at it as they passed right underneath the arc it had just made.

Soon Azkaban came into view. It looked not so much like a castle as much as the ruins of a castle. It was on an island and took up pretty much all of the land. Harry tried to see if there were any Aurors stationed at the towers or something, but at that point, he realized that his vision was starting to get blurry. He heard Tonks ask him "Hey Malfoy, how come your hair is turning black?" Harry pulled out his glasses and put them on so he could see. Then he turned to smile at Tonks. Tonks simply gaped at him open mouthed. She stopped propelling the boat forward with her wand and the two of them just stared at each other.

After a minute or so, Harry broke the silence. "Wotcher Tonks." he said smirking. Tonks continued to gape at him open mouthed.

"Harry. What are you… what's going on?" she finally spat out after some more silence.

"I guess I should explain." Harry said. "Tonks, I am going to take a tremendous act of faith on you. What I am about to tell you is something that needs to be kept secret understand?" Tonks nodded. "First of all, the Professor McGonagall you met tonight, isn't Professor McGonagall. It's Bellatrix Lestrange using Polyjuice Potion. I spoke to the real Professor McGonagall and she told me that if word gets out, Lestrange might start killing students. That's why I had to pretend to be Malfoy.

"Now the reason I need to get to Azkaban is, I overheard Lestrange talking to Voldemort on a two-way mirror, and Voldemort told her about a powerful magical object hidden in Azkaban. I can't tell you what it is exactly, but my getting it and destroying it is essential to defeating Voldemort. Understand?"

Tonks hesitated before talking. "How is it essential?"

"I can't tell you. Dumbledore didn't want anyone to know except me and him."

"But why you?" Harry sighed. He had hoped he could avoid telling her this.

"Because I'm the chosen one." Tonks dropped her look of confusion in favor of a look of terror. "Dumbledore told me contents of the prophecy. He knew because it was made to him."

The two of them were quiet for a long while. Tonks looked at him intently as if seeing him in a new light. After a while she glanced at the castle behind him. "How were you going to hide your identity from the Aurors that guard Azkaban?"

"I wasn't planning to. I thought you could send a message to Scrimgeour telling him that I'd be willing to endorse the Ministry if he'd be willing to cover up my visit."

"That would work." Tonks put her wand back in the water and they took off once again. Finally they got to the jetty leading to Azkaban. Once off the boat, Tonks took the shackles off of Harry's hands and led him up to the giant entrance doors which she tapped with her wand causing them to open. Azkaban was pretty much how Harry had pictured it. It was dark, dirty, dank and smelly filled with rows and rows of jail cells. "So, where is this thing?" Tonks asked.

"It's in Bellatrix Lestrange's old cell. And we need someone with the Dark Mark to find it."

"Got it." Tonks reached out and grabbed a nearby young Auror with sandy brown hair who was guarding the door and pulled him toward her. "Hi. I'm Tonks. What's your name?" She held out her hand to shake. The brown haired Auror however was totally confused, mostly by Tonks's hair. "What's your name!" she said to get his attention.

"Huh? Oh sorry. I'm Mike."

"Hi Mike. Let me introduce you to Harry Potter." Mike turned to Harry. His eyes immediately flew to his scar, but Harry was used to this by now.

"Hi Mike. I'm Harry." Harry said shaking Mike's hand as if meeting Harry Potter was nothing special.

"Mike, I need you to take Harry to Bellatrix Lestrange's old cell." said Tonks.

"Why?" Mike asked looking even more confused.

"Sorry Mike that's classified." Tonks then turned to Harry and said "Harry you go with Mike. I'll take care of everything else." She then walked away. Harry and Mike stared after her for a moment and then turned to each other.

"Well… the cell is this way." Mike said motioning down the hall. He turned and walked down it and Harry followed. Most prisoners were asleep, some were staring into space, and a few were reading books.

"So how do you know exactly where the cell is?" Harry asked as they walked.

"Well we keep all the cells that belonged to escaped Death Eaters reserved for when we catch them again. Here, we've got to go up some stairs." They traveled up a few flights of stairs and then to the other side of the castle where they kept most of the female prisoners. There weren't many and after a while they had come to an empty cell. Mike pulled out a ring of what looked like about fifty keys. It took him a pretty long time to find the key he was looking for, but he eventually did. He unlocked the gate and opened it for Harry. "I'll just wait out here."

Harry stepped into the cell. It was just like the cell the Room of Requirement had turned into, only it stank and it had no eating area. It also had a strange feeling about it. It was like a combination of de-ja-vu and sadness that Harry thought he had felt before. Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment that he had copied down a long incantation from a book in the restricted section of the library. He held up his wand and started muttering the incantation. As he did, he could feel his wand getting pulled toward the wall opposite the bed. The second he finished the incantation the felt is wand connect with the wall. He looked up and saw a square outline on the wall with light, much like the entrance to the cave that you had to give blood to get past that Harry had visited with Dumbledore the previous year. In the middle of the square was the familiar skull with a snake coming out of it that represented Voldemort. The shiny square with the symbol in it only remained for a few seconds and then vanished. Nothing to do now but wait for Tonks.

A while later, Harry heard Tonks coming down the hallway toward him, accompanied by a loud and familiar voice saying "Well when the Dark Lord overthrows the Ministry of Magic, which should be any day now, he will of course take over Azkaban and free all of his followers. I of course will have to repay the Dark Lord for my failure, but he has always favored me and I'm quite sure-" The long blond haired Luscious Malfoy came into view being led by Tonks who had her wand pointed at his back. The second he saw Harry, he stopped talking. "YOU!" he shouted. He then ran right past Mike into the cell toward Harry with his shackled arms outstretched as if to choke Harry. Harry simply stunned Luscious with a flick of his wand, and then stepped aside so that when Luscious came tumbling foreword, he would not land on Harry.

Harry bent down to pick him up. "Mike help me." Harry called. Mike came into the cell and helped Harry pick up Luscious Malfoy. Harry pulled back the sleeve of his left arm revealing the Dark Mark, which he place against the wall where the shiny Dark Mark had been. The square portion of the wall vanished revealing a small compartment that hid the cup with the badger insignia on it. He quickly stuffed it into his pocket before Mike could see what it was. He decided he would destroy it once he got back to Hogwarts. He felt like the sooner he got out of Azkaban, the better.

"Is that it?" asked Mike, as usual sounding confused.

"Yep that's it Mike." said Harry. "Thank you for your help. Tonks could you show me out please?"

"Certainly Harry." Tonks replied. "Mike if you don't mind please take Mr. Malfoy back to his cell, but wait until were gone." Mike nodded and Harry and Tonks took off down the hall. "So, what was that?"

"Sorry Tonks but the less people know about it, the better." Harry replied.

"Gotcha. Well, I spoke to the Minister. He was pleased to hear you decided to endorse the Ministry, and he said he'd arrange for you to visit over the Xmas break."

"Thanks."

"No problem. So how are we going to get Draco Malfoy out of Hogwarts without anyone seeing him?"

"Well I was thinking Mad-Eye Moody could escort him out under his invisibility cloak."

"Under an invisibility cloak, he could escape pretty easily."

"Yeah that's why I said Mad-Eye Moody could escort him out."

"Oh. Smart."


	18. Changing Genders

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to all the people who reviewed the last chapter. I was happy to receive more than the usual two reviews and I think I deserve it because Chapter 17 was a tough one. This next chapter is more comic relief. Enjoy. WARNING: Some sexual humor.

**Chapter 18**

**Changing Genders**

"Honestly Potter. This little scheme of yours was bloody brilliant." It was Mad-Eye Moody talking. He and Harry were walking up the Hogwarts grounds on Sunday afternoon. Harry was under the invisibility cloak and Moody had his magical eye on him. Several students were out on the grounds enjoying the nice weather, but none of them took much notice of Moody. Aurors walking in and out of the school had become a common occurrence throughout the year.

"Thank you sir." Harry replied.

"Have you ever considered a career as an Auror?" Harry smiled. Becoming an Auror was indeed his career ambition, and ironically enough, it was a Death Eater pretending to be Moody who had first made the suggestion.

"Yeah that's my plan." Harry replied. Harry led Moody up to the seventh floor corridor where Harry revealed the Room of Requirement. Harry opened the door and then unlocked the inner jail cell door with the key. Malfoy was laying on the cot looking up at the ceiling. Harry stepped up to Malfoy who turned to look at Harry.

"Did you do it?" Malfoy asked.

"Do what?" Harry asked.

Malfoy shrugged. "Whatever it is you needed to go to Azkaban to do."

"Yeah."

"Good." Malfoy stood up and looked directly at Harry. "I hope you get him Potter." Malfoy then walked over to Moody who draped his own invisibility cloak over the boy and led him out.

Harry pocketed his invisibility cloak and made his way back to the Gryffindor common room thinking about what Malfoy had said. He figured that he shouldn't be so surprised. Voldemort killed his mother. It's only natural that he would want him to get what was coming to him. Then Harry realized that it wasn't what Malfoy had said that surprised him. It was the way Malfoy had looked at him. It was as if he was grateful. Harry had never seen that look on Malfoy's face before.

Harry reached the Fat Lady. "When did you leave?" she asked. "I don't remember you leaving."

"You were asleep. Patronus." Harry said dismissively.

"Actually the password changed this morning." Harry stood there staring at the Fat Lady for a minute before Ginny came up behind him and slapped him on the ass. Harry jumped in surprise.

"Welcome back." Ginny said before giving him a kiss on the cheek. Harry was to sleep deprived to resist. She then turned to the Fat Lady and said "Mistletoe" causing the portrait hole to open. The two of them stepped in and found Ron stretched out on one of the couches looking up at the ceiling. Harry thought that Ron looked upset about something before noticing Harry and sitting up.

"Did you get it?" he asked after looking around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. Harry nodded.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Library." Ron replied miserably. The mere mention of Hermione had suddenly changed Ron's mood back to upset. Harry guessed that his little Hogsmeade date with Hermione hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped.

Almost on cue, Hermione stepped through the portrait hole. She did not notice Harry immediately because she was looking uncomfortably at Ron. When she did notice Harry, he motioned for them all to go up to his room, which they did. Once alone in the head boy dorm, Harry revealed the cup of Hufflepuff which he placed on a stool in the middle of the room. "Now all there is to do is destroy it." he said. Harry pulled out his wand, pointed it at the cup and said "_Reducto." _To everyone's surprise, a flash of light later, the cup still stood there looking undamaged. Harry tried the reductor curse again to the same effect.

"Maybe if we tried it together." suggested Hermione taking out her wand standing opposite Harry, and pointing it at the cup. "1, 2, 3, _Reducto!"_ They both fired the curse at the same time, but the cup was totally undamaged.

"Maybe if we all tried it at once." Ron chimed in. He and Ginny each took out their wands and pointed them at the cup so that the cup had a wand pointed at it on all sides. The four friends stood around the cup, focusing all their energy into the curse. "1, 2, 3, _REDUCTO!" _Four flashes of light later, the stool the cup had been placed on had turned to dust, but the cup itself had not so much as a crack in it. The four of them lowered their wands and gaped in awe at the totally undamaged horcrux.

"I don't get it." Ron said frustrated. "The diary went down easily enough didn't it?" Harry nodded.

"Then again," Hermione began, "Dumbledore totally burned his arm when he destroyed the ring." Harry rubbed his eyes. His eyelids were heavy. He was suddenly feeling rather foolish having never asked Dumbledore if there was any special way that you needed to destroy a horcrux. If there was a special way, it didn't make sense that the diary had been destroyed so easily. Harry suddenly felt like he didn't want to think about it anymore.

"Look, I have gotten no sleep. Let's try and figure this out tomorrow." Harry said. Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement and left. Ginny stayed behind.

"Get some sleep Harry." she said. "You look terrible." She then leaned in and kissed him on the mouth, and then left. Harry sighed. Clearly she was taking advantage of the fact that he was to tired to object to her kissing him. Secretly he was glad that she was. Harry smiled to himself and flopped down on the bed and fell straight to sleep.

* * *

The fake Professor McGonagall tried to keep the brief presence of Draco Malfoy back in Hogwarts a secret. Of course anyone who had gone to Hogwarts for more than a year should know that secrets don't stay secret for long. Soon Malfoy was the talk of the school. There were a lot of mixed feeling about Harry Potter's actions, but Harry who was used to this kind of thing, couldn't have cared less. The only change that got his attention was that Pansy Parkinson was suddenly saying hi to him every time she saw him in the corridors. The fact that she had taken the totally un-Slytherin stance of being pro-Harry, had gotten her alienated from her body guards Crabbe and Goyle, who found the fact that Harry had saved Malfoy's life a reason to hate him even more. The two husky Slytherins seemed to seek new leadership, as Harry saw them following around Theodore Nott, who seemed thoroughly frustrated with his two new friends as he was used to being alone.

Meanwhile, Harry was having no progress with the indestructible cup. That Tuesday, which was Halloween, found Harry in his room sitting on his bed tapping the horcrux with his wand in different spots, while Hermione sat at his desk pouring through a book from the restricted section of the library. "It's no use!" said Hermione slamming the book closed, clearly upset that her best friend the book was failing her. "If there is some way to destroy it, we'll never know because none of the books in the library talk about horcruxes. What I don't get is if Dumbledore knew how to destroy them, why didn't he tell you?"

"Well he probably thought he'd live." Harry said simply.

"He thought enough to update his will just before he left." This raised Harry's eyebrows. Hermione was right as usual. If Dumbledore had thought he might die, why hadn't he told Harry how to destroy a horcrux. He could have written it on his letter to Harry.

Around that moment, Ron showed up. "Made any progress?" he asked.

"No." Harry said miserably.

"Right." Ron said. "Well Hermione here you go." Ron pulled out a vial of potion from his pocket and handed it to Hermione.

"What's that?" asked Harry.

"It's Polyjuice Potion, for Potions class." Hermione took out her own vial of potion and handed it to Ron. "Speaking of which, what are you planning to tell Professor Slughorn about your Polyjuice Potion."

"I'll just tell him I dropped it I guess. He'll probably just give me an essay or something as makeup work."

Just as Ron was about to drink his potion, Hermione stopped him. "Have you gone to the bathroom recently?" she asked Ron.

"No." Ron replied. "Why do I need to go to the bathroom?"

"Because I don't want you going to the bathroom in my body." Ron looked dumbfounded and Harry started laughing. The look on Ron's face suggested that his master plan had just been foiled.

"Um… I wasn't planning on going to the bathroom in your body." Ron told an unconvincing lie.

"Good." she replied. Hermione then reached into her shirt and extracted her bra. "Here. Go into the bathroom and put this on." As Ron took the bra, he stared at it as if transfixed and then walked over to the bathroom. Just the thought of Ron putting on a bra made Harry laugh even harder.

Ron was in the bathroom for about five minutes when he called out "I can't get this thing on."

Hermione walked over the door and said "Open the door so I can help you."

"I'm not opening the door for you Hermione!" Ron replied. "I'm not wearing a shirt!" Hermione thought for a moment and then turned to Harry who was now rolling around his bed guffawing.

"Harry go in there and help Ron." she demanded.

"What makes you think I know how to work a bra?" Harry asked still laughing.

"Well now's a good time to learn." Hermione said sternly pulling Harry off his bed and forcing him into the bathroom. It took another ten minutes for Harry to figure out how to put it on and once they were out of the bathroom, they agreed that they would never speak of it again. Ron and Hermione toasted their potions and then drained each others vials. Next thing they knew, Ron had become Hermione and Hermione had become Ron. Hermione (or at this point Ron) straightened her bra and the two of them admired their new bodies. Then the three of them headed for Potions.

It was not as weird as one might have thought walking down to Potions with two people who had switched bodies. At one point Harry noticed that Ron seemed especially interested in something in his pocket, but then Harry remembered that it wasn't Ron it was Hermione. Harry tried very hard to control his laughter.

As soon as the three of them arrived at Potions, Harry walked up to Professor Slughorn who was sitting behind his desk. "Ah hello Harry. Or are you Harry?" Slughorn greeted him smiling to himself.

"Sir, I'm afraid I accidentally dropped and broke my vial of Polyjuice Potion over the weekend." Harry said. Slughorn's smile vanished. Harry thought to himself that if he just told Slughorn that he had used his potion to impersonate Draco Malfoy to get the horcrux, Slughorn would probably give him credit for the assignment. As he thought this, he suddenly realized that Professor Slughorn was starring at him in a very curious way. A horrible thought immerged into Harry's mind that Slughorn might know Legilimency, but just as he thought this, Slughorn's expression changed back to a smile.

"Not a problem Harry m'boy. I'll give you an essay to do, but we'll talk about it after class. Now take your seat." Harry gratefully took his seat at his usual table with Ron, Hermione, and his friend from Hufflepuff Ernie Macmillan. Professor Slughorn began the lesson by writing down the names of everyone in the class on the blackboard. Throughout the class he wrote down the name of the real person next to the name of the person they were disguised as. He figured out Ron and Hermione pretty easily when Ron answered a difficult question that he asked the class.

Just before class was about to end, people started changing back into themselves. The only inter-house switch was when the boy Harry had thought to be Ernie Macmillan turned out to be Anthony Goldstein of Ravenclaw, a boy with naturally curly hair he wore like some kind white afro. Harry turned toward Slughorn to see if he would comment on the ones he had guessed right and wrong only to see him transform into Professor Donovan. As everyone starred transfixed at the DADA teacher, a chair in the corner of the room that no one had noticed turned into the real Professor Slughorn who walked up to Angie and thanked her for helping out with the class. Once the bell rang, Slughorn gave Harry his essay and dismissed the class.

"Well that was an interesting experience." commented Hermione as the trio walked back to the Gryffindor common room.

"Yeah." agreed Ron. "Now I'd like to get this bra off." Several people stopped and turned their heads as Ron had spoken just a little too loud.

**Author's Note: **J. K. Rowling has never given an actual description of Anthony Goldstein, and since he's the only character in the series that might be Jewish, like me, I just thought I'd throw that in there for fun. For the record, that hair style is known as a Jew Fro or an Isro.


	19. The Double Bludger Shot

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Chapter 19**

**The Double Bludger Shot**

As November began, Harry was thinking less and less about the indestructible horcrux. His attention was drawn by the upcoming first quidditch match of the season against Slytherin. Although the practices had all gone pretty well, Harry was unsure of how his new players would do in a real game. On the other hand, Ron and Ginny had never played better. Ron, who always seemed very venerable to the taunts and head games of Slytherins, was suddenly impervious to threats. Harry's biggest worry, was the weather. The clouds were getting darker by the day and if it did rain on the day of the match, it would be bad for the team as they had never had a practice in rainy conditions.

The night before the match, Harry found himself in the library reading a book from the restricted section of the library called A Dark Wizard's Servants which was basically about dark creatures that can only be summoned by dark wizards. Harry had just finished the chapter on Inferi and was reading about a creature called a Doppelganger, which is basically an evil twin version of a person from a memory, when he was interrupted by a burly blonde haired boy saying "Hey Harry. Whatcha reading?"

Harry looked up and recognized his new beater Steve. "Hey Steve." Harry said. "Just reading something for class. You got the report?" Steven had volunteered to scout the Slytherin practice.

"Yeah." Steve said getting business-like. "Urquhart has put together a pretty good team this year. Vaisey has gotten better at scoring goals over the summer and they're new keeper Derek Hollow is pretty good too, but I think we'll be a pretty good match for them. I think the biggest problem will be their new seeker."

"Who is it?" Harry asked interested in this disturbing news.

"I don't know his name, but it's that rabitty guy that Crabbe and Goyle are always following around."

"Nott." Harry said.

Harry was about to ask how Nott was, but his thoughts were interrupted by the angry voice of Madam Pince saying "Do I need to remind you that this is a library?" Harry and Steve had both totally forgotten where they were. Harry put up his book and the two of them headed back to the Gryffindor common room.

"So, how's Nott at flying?" Harry asked as they made their way back.

"He's good." Steve said. "Plus he's got one of those new Nimbus 2006s. Not as fast as a Firebolt but close." Harry considered this new bit of information. The fact that he had never failed to catch the snitch except for the two times when he had been incapacitated before the end of the game, made him confident enough that he wasn't worried. As for the good Slytherin team, he would just have to put his faith in the choices he'd made.

* * *

The morning of an upcoming Quidditch match with Slytherin was a morning Harry had woken up to many times before, and this morning was no different. The first thing he did when he woke up was look out the window. As he had suspected, it was raining, but it was not so bad that it looked like night, which was a condition he had played in before. Harry went down to breakfast to the usual catcalls and insults from Slytherins and the cheers and words of encouragement from fellow Gryffindors. Harry sat down with his team. Ron was miraculously acting like some kind of seasoned veteran and was scarfing down his breakfast like any other day. His new team members Steve and Maria however were all starring nervously at their food not touching it. "Guys you need to eat." Harry told them.

"I'm not hungry." Maria replied. Steve grunted in agreement.

"Well then force something down." Harry told them firmly. "You need your strength. Do you really thing Ron is this hungry?"

Steve and Maria turned to look at Ron who looked back at them in surprise as he had not been paying attention to the conversation. "What?" Ron asked spraying out egg that his mouth had been full of.

Steve and Maria turned back to Harry. "Okay bad example. But at least Ron is going to have his strength. Just trust me. You force something down now, you'll be glad you did later." The two newcomers shrugged and dug into their food.

Harry insisted that they all head down to the pitch together. Once outside, Harry pointed his wand skyward and conjured an umbrella to pop out of the top of the wand and made it big enough to shield the entire team from the rain. The murky weather was having a bad effect on the teams morale. Harry looked around for a way to fire the team up and saw it just a few feet away also walking down to the pitch. "Hey Luna!" Harry called out. Luna Lovegood turned in their direction. "Give us a roar!" Luna smiled and tapped her wand to the giant lion's head hat she was wearing which gave a loud roar. The team cheered their thanks.

Once in the locker room, the team changed into their red quidditch robes and Harry got up to make a speech. "All right team," he said. "The weather sucks, and it's not going to be a walk in the park, but I can honestly say that I've never been more confident in our chances. We've got three great chasers, two great new beaters, and a keeper who is quite frankly 'King.' We play our game, Slytherin doesn't stand a chance. Let's go." Harry looked around at his teammates. His words seemed to have had a good effect.

The team headed out toward the pitch and met the Slytherin team in the center of the pitch. "Captains shake hands." Madam Hooch commanded. Harry and Urquhart had the usual contest of who can crush who's hand. Harry lost. "Mount your brooms. On the whistle… three… two… one…"

Harry and the team kicked off from the ground and the match began. Harry soared upward and looker around for the Snitch. He looked over at Nott who had made pretty much the same move.

"And the match has begun. Ginny Weasly has the Quaffle, passes to Demilza Robins, passes to Maria Ramirez the new chaser who takes her first shot… Oh and it's caught by the new keeper Hollow who passes to Vaisey… No wait it's intercepted by Ginny who passes back to Ramirez who shoots again… And it's good!" There were the usual cheers and boos and the roar from Luna's hat. Harry looked over to the commentator's booth. The voice sounded familiar, but Harry wouldn't have expected him to become commentator. Sure enough there was the short blonde haired boy who had once been obsessed with Harry. Colin Creevy was the new commentator and was doing a pretty good job.

Harry turned his attention back to look for the Snitch just in time to see a bludger heading straight for his head. Harry ducked and the bludger missed him by an inch. Harry shot a glare at Crabbe who had hit the bludger, which resulted him not seeing the exact same bludger heading right back towards him having been hit back by Goyle. The bludger connected with his leg and it stung with pain, though Harry could tell it was not broken.

It soon became clear that Crabbe and Goyle were making it their mission to injure Harry. Harry couldn't figure out weather this was because they hated him, or if they had been ordered to by their captain. Either way, Harry was glad because this meant that they were not paying attention to the match and the Gryffindor chasers had a wide open shot at the goals. Harry on the other hand would just have to dodge the bludgers they shot at him which wasn't to hard.

After about a half-hour of game play Gryffindor had fifty points and Ron had only let in one goal. Harry hadn't seen the any sign of the Snitch, but had successfully dodged every single bludger shot from Crabbe and Goyle. Steve and Dean had tried to stop Crabbe and Goyle at one point but had been forced to return to the match after not to long.

Harry dodged another bludger shot from Goyle and it was then that he saw the shiny gold Snitch down near the ground. Harry went into a dive and Nott followed. Harry was heading for the ground as fast as he could, his eyes focused on the snitch which is why he didn't see the entire group of chasers passing by at the exact moment headed for the Gryffindor goal posts. Harry swerved and successfully avoided three near collisions, but lost track of the Snitch. Harry looked around through the rain to find the Snitch and saw Nott heading back upward towards the Slytherin goal posts. Harry followed.

Harry kept behind Nott. Nott had his hand outstretched, but Harry could see no sign of the Snitch. Just as Harry was able to get along side him, Nott pulled out of his upward flight and plunged back into a dive. It took Harry a surprised moment to see what had happened, and it was that surprised moment that cost him everything. Golye had been waiting for him with a bludger ready, and this time Harry didn't have time to dodge it. At the same time, Crabbe had hit the other bludger in Harry's direction from behind him. Goyle's bludger connected with Harry's chest at the same time that Crabbe's bludger connected with Harry's back.

"The double bludger shot!" Colin said horrified as he saw the attack. "The most illegal shot in all of quidditch!"

Harry felt his insides crushed, his ribcage shatter, and was conscious of the fact that although he tried to move his arms and legs, they were no longer responding to him. Harry slid off his broom and headed head first toward the ground. He could see his teammates headed toward him, but they were all on the other side of the pitch and there was no hope of anyone catching him. Harry could see the ground getting closer and closer. Suddenly Harry was blinded momentarily by a flash of light and suddenly he realized that he was slowing down. The speed of his fall slowed steadily until he landed in the waiting arms of a woman who laid him gently down on the ground. Harry did not have time for his mind to register who the woman was, because as soon as he touched the ground, he blacked out.

* * *

Harry opened his eyes and saw immediately that he was in the hospital wing. Harry looked around. Since the entire team was not standing around him waiting for him to wake up, he assumed that he had been out for a while. He saw sunlight coming in through the windows. A full day must have passed. He had never been out that long. Harry sat up. He had expected his mid-section to be wrapped in bandages, but since it wasn't, Harry concluded that his injury must not have been as bad as he thought. There on the edge of his bed was Ginny. The moment she saw him she leapt on him and kissed him. Harry pushed her off.

"Don't do that Ginny! It hurts." Harry said gripping his chest. It didn't really hurt that much, but it was good to have an excuse.

"Sorry." Ginny said. "It's just so good to see you. You've been out for five days."

"Five days? Wow. What exactly happened?"

"Well, you got hit by two bludgers at once."

"Yeah I know that part, but what happened after that?"

"Well you fell off your broom, and then Angie ran out to the pitch. She hit you with this spell that made you slow down as you fell. It was the same spell that Dumbledore used that time when you were attacked by dementors. Anyway she caught you and brought you up here. Madam Pomfrey said your ribcage was destroyed and she had to re grow certain parts of your spinal cord."

Harry stared at her for a few seconds. She still had not told him what he wanted to know.

"Ginny who won the match?" From the look on Ginny's face, it was clear that they had lost.

"I'm sorry Harry. We blew it."

Harry smiled in spite of himself. Harry had been the one taken out by two bludgers and yet it was the team that was blamed for losing the match.

"Ginny I'm the one that blew it."

"No. We almost beat them anyway. Ron let in another goal because he was distracted by you getting hit. But after that, we started scoring like crazy. We were up one sixty to twenty. And then Nott caught the Snitch."

Harry did the math quickly in his head.

"We only lost by ten. That means we're still in the running for the quidditch cup. That's great Ginny. It's the best we could have hoped for. We lost because of me. If I could have gotten the Snitch before Nott-"

Harry stopped in mid-sentence because a thought had just occurred to him. Harry hadn't seen the Snitch when Nott was chasing it. Had Nott really been chasing the Snitch, or had he just been luring him to a spot where Crabbe and Goyle could double team him. It would have been a well thought out plan. Lead him toward the Slytherin goal posts while all the chasers are near the Gryffindor goal posts and no one would be able catch him. Had Nott just been chasing the Snitch, or was the double bludger shot his idea all along.

"Harry?"

Harry realized that he had just been quiet for several seconds. Harry pushed his suspicion to the back of his mind.

"Sorry. Look you did great. The whole team did great. As soon as I get out I'll tell them."

Ginny smiled at him. She looked so pretty Harry could hardly believe that she wanted to be with him and he didn't want to be with her. Harry was compelled by a sudden urge to kiss her and slip into the world where he had no worries or concerns. Ginny leaned in to kiss him but Harry pushed her back. Ginny looked upset.

"Harry please." Ginny said. "Don't do that."

"Look Ginny. I don't like this either. But I'm doing this for you."

"But what if Voldemort showed up tomorrow? And you got killed? Harry I feel like the time we have together is limited. I feel like we're wasting it."

Harry broke their eye contact and looked down. The truth was that he felt the exact same way. But he couldn't tell her that. He couldn't risk that if he stayed together with Ginny that Voldemort might discover how he felt about her. Voldemort might find out that he loved her. Harry shuddered as he thought the words. He couldn't say it. He couldn't even risk thinking it. He wouldn't allow himself to tell her. To protect her, he had to say nothing.

Thankfully at that moment Madam Pomfrey showed up and shooed Ginny out of the hospital wing. Harry laid down on his bed and starred at the ceiling. He tried not to think about Ginny, but the more he tried not to, the more he did.


	20. The Merlin Effect

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **I'm really sorry for the long wait. You know how it is. Class, homework, writer's block. I think it's a wonder I got this far.

**Chapter 20**

**The Merlin Effect**

Over the next few weeks, Ginny's failure with Harry in the hospital wing seemed to have a lasting effect. Ginny seemed have given up on seducing Harry and she had chosen to avoid him as much as she could. Far from being relieved, Harry found himself missing her advances greatly. What's more, every time Harry saw Ginny these days she looked sad and defeated, sitting alone at meals not talking to anyone. Harry had never seen Ginny behave like this and knew that it was all his fault. He felt terrible having hurt someone that he cared about so deeply.

The holiday break was approaching. Most students were going home for Xmas, but Harry for the first time in two years would be staying at school for two reasons. The first reason was that the family that he would have spent Xmas with, the Weaslys, had left the Burrow and gone into hiding after the abduction of Fred and George. Both Ron and Ginny were also staying at school in accordance with the wishes of their parents.

The second reason came to Harry on the last day of classes before the holiday break. That morning at breakfast, Harry was sitting with Hermione while Ron was in the bathroom, and looking over at Ginny who sat at the edge of the table picking at her food.

"What did you do?" Hermione asked. Harry looked back startled. Hermione had apparently seen him looking at Ginny.

"Nothing." Harry replied sadly. "That's the problem." Harry explained why Ginny was upset, but he didn't go into detail about what had happened in the hospital wing as it might have tempted him to just blurt out that he was in love with her.

Hermione sighed sadly and muttered something under her breath that sounded an awful lot like "Boys." Harry wondered for a moment if she was referring to just him, or both him and Ron. Ever since Harry had gotten out of the hospital wing, the awkwardness between Ron and Hermione had gotten worse. Harry had to conclude that they had experienced another row at some point during his stay in the hospital wing. Harry couldn't figure out, if they really fancied each other and were so close to actually getting together, why they were constantly screwing it up.

Just then, Ginny walked by on her way out of the Great Hall and the flowery scent she left behind jerked Harry's thoughts away from Ron and Hermione and back to Ginny. Harry watched her leave, and then turned back to Hermione.

"I just wish there was something I could do to cheer her up." Harry said more to himself, but hoping that Hermione might have a suggestion. "You know. To show her I do care about her even if I'm not willing to be with her at the moment."

"Get her a present." Hermione suggested. "You know. Something nice for Xmas. You could get something during the Hogsmeade visit this weekend." Harry smiled. It was a good idea. After a brief pause she muttered audibly "Girls like presents." Harry looked up at her curiously wondering if she was trying to give him a hint of some kind when Ron sat down next to him.

A few minutes later the post owls arrived. Harry hadn't gotten a single piece of mail since the start of the year, so he was totally surprised to see the snowy white Hedwig among the brown and tawny owls. Hedwig landed in front of him and Harry took the letter excitedly thinking that maybe Lupin had finally found time to write. He sank slightly when he read the letter.

"Who's the letter from?" asked Ron.

"The Minister of Magic." Harry replied flatly. "It basically says the details of how he's going to arrange my visit over the break."

"I can't believe you actually going to tell people that the Ministry is doing a good job." Ron commented.

"A necessary sacrifice." Harry replied. "It's the only way I could get the horcrux without Voldemort finding out. He kept his end of the deal and covered it up, now I have to keep mine."

"Well I think your doing the right thing Harry." Hermione chimed in.

"What?" Ron asked sounding horrified. "You think Harry should endorse the Ministry after everything they've done to him?"

"Well I agree that the Ministry doesn't deserve Harry's support, but there are other things to consider besides what the Ministry deserves."

"Like what?"

"We're at war. The Ministry is on our side of the war, and Harry's endorsing them would be a morale boost for the entire wizarding world which they really need."

"You think so?" Harry asked.

"Yes I do. I know you haven't been reading the newspapers a lot lately but I have. Dementor attacks, inferi sightings, giants knocking down buildings, these things are happening every day. We don't see it because we're safe in school, but it's like the apocalypse out there. And ever since the Ministry released the prisoners it had arrested last year, people have been losing faith in the Ministry. If people start losing faith in the Ministry, next they'll be losing faith that Voldemort will one day be defeated and then they start losing all hope altogether. People need something to hope for Harry."

Harry simply nodded. Ron remained unconvinced, but probably because it was Hermione that was trying to convince him.

That night was to be the last DA meeting before the holiday break. Harry headed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom right after dinner so that he could talk to Angie in private before anyone else got there. When he opened the door, all the chairs and desks were gone and a dueling mat was spread out in the center of the room.

"What are we doing today?" Harry asked Angie, who was sitting behind her desk.

"Oh, you'll see." she replied mischievously. "So, why are you here early?"

"Well I just realized that I'd never properly thanked you for saving my life at the Quidditch match."

"Think nothing of it. By the way you fly extremely well. Just like James." Harry was glad to see that she didn't tear up at the mention of his father.

"I was also wondering what was that spell you used to slow me down?"

"The Momentum Charm. A very special charm. It's main purpose is to stop people from falling to their deaths, but it can be used in other situations."

"Is it in the curriculum for the second semester?"

"No that particular charm is far to advanced to be taught in school. Very few people even know it exists, much less how to do it."

"Where did you learn it then?"

Angie did not answer him right away. She simply beamed at him leaning forward over her desk and resting her elbow on it and putting her hand on her chin.

"Very astute question Harry." she finally said after a few seconds of silence. Harry racked his brain trying to think of who she reminded him of just then. Soon people started arriving. "One day I'll tell you Harry." she said before transforming into Professor Donovan. "But not yet."

"Alright class," Professor Donovan said once everyone had arrived, "since there's no point in getting into anything new on the last day before the holiday break, today we will be seeing what you have learned. Next semester we will be getting away from dueling and going into counter-curses for dark magic. I'll even be teaching you Patronuses." There was a slight murmur of excitement amongst the people who hadn't been in the original DA.

"As for today, we will be putting what dueling skills I have taught you to the test." Professor Donovan tapped the blackboard with her wand and a tournament grid appeared on the left side, and the names of everyone in the class on the right side. "And we will be doing that with a good old fashioned tournament. First pairing." She tapped the board with her wand again and two random names flew over to the first spot on the tournament grid. "Michael Corner and Ronald Weasly, your up."

The tournament was probably the most fun they had ever had in a DA meeting. The first duel between Ron and Michael was a truly spectacular duel that ended when Ron hit Michael with the same slug puking curse that Ron had once accidentally cast on himself.

Harry had fun cheering on his friends as they all showed what they were capable of. Pansy Parkinson, who had just joined the DA recently didn't last very long, especially on the receiving end of a bat-bogey hex from Ginny. Lavender Brown also went down quickly from an Impediment Jinx from Hermione.

Harry's own first duel was against Terry Boot of Ravenclaw. Terry was a tough opponent, but Harry took him down with a well placed Leg-Locker curse. Harry's second opponent was Justin Finch-Fletchley of Hufflepuff who almost successfully stupefied Harry, but Harry got his Shield Charm up just in time to deflect it back on to Justin. Harry's third duel was with Neville Longbottom who had lasted much longer that anyone thought he would. When the duel started, Neville got off a couple of shots of different curses which Harry focused hard in order to deflect with his wand. Soon Harry found an opening in Neville's attacks to fire his own tickling charm which hit Neville and sent him to the ground laughing.

As the tournament went on, it soon became clear that Harry's opponent in the semi-finals would be Hermione who had just successfully stupefied Luna Lovegood. Although Hermione would be a tough opponent, Harry was slightly more interested in the other semi-finals duel which would be Ginny who beat Ron with her patented Bat-Bogey Hex versus Theodore Nott, who had revealed a special talent for dueling in his most recent hard fought duel with Dean Thomas whose head he had turned into a large pumpkin. Harry was confident that Ginny could beat Nott and that was what worried him. Ginny was already upset with him, and if she was told to attack him with her wand she might just decide to send him back to the hospital wing.

"Semi-finals duel. Harry Potter versus Hermione Granger. Duelers step forward" Professor Donovan called out.

Harry and Hermione stepped forward. They gave each other an understanding look that said that just because they were friends didn't mean they would be holding anything back.

"Bow." They bowed to each other. "Take your dueling positions." Harry pointed his wand at Hermione in the attack position and Hermione pointed her wand down in the defense position. "1... 2... 3... Duel!"

Surprisingly, Hermione fired first. Her taking of the defense position was clearly just a clever ruse. Harry was to shocked to deflect the curse, but was able to dodge it just in time thanks to his Quidditch reflexes. Harry countered with a stunning spell which Hermione deflected rather lazily and countered with her own curse. This time however, Harry was ready. "_Protego!"_ Harry thought. Hermione's curse bounced right off Harry's shield charm and headed back toward Hermione who had not expected it. She only had time to dodge the spell, but stumbled while doing so giving Harry the opening he needed. Harry thought "_Expeliamus!"_ and Hermione's wand shot out of her hand. The sound of the wand clattering on the floor translated as the sweet sound of victory.

Harry stood still for a second to absorb the applause from the observers and then stepped off the matt to watch the next duel. Hermione came to stand next to him and congratulated him on a well-fought victory.

"Next semi-final duel, Ginny Weasly versus Theodore Nott. Duelers step forward." Ginny and Nott both stepped forward. Ginny looked determined and serious. Nott on the other hand looked like he was about to go on a rather exciting roller-coaster ride. It was clear that he was enjoying himself perhaps more than everyone else. The pair bowed to each other and then took their dueling positions, Ginny's the attack position, Nott's the expectant position. "1... 2... 3... Duel!"

Ginny, clearly determined to win this duel began firing Bat-Bogey Hexes in rapid-fire succession as if her wand were a machine gun. Nott however was not phased and deflected every hex just as quickly as Ginny fired them. This went on for several seconds until finally Nott used a flash of light from his wand to temporarily blind Ginny and then fired off a curse of his own. Ginny looked like she attempted to put up a shield charm, but was not quick enough and the curse connected. The force of the curse took Ginny off her feet and she landed right in front of Harry, who bent down to see if she was all right.

Ginny at first just looked slightly dazed, but as she came to, she suddenly let out a horrified sheik. Harry watched in horror as her pretty face suddenly became old, her beautiful skin began to wrinkle, and her fiery red hair began to turn grey.

"Professor!" Harry yelled out. Professor Donovan ran over to him.

"Merlin's beard!" she said when she saw Ginny. She quickly kneeled down and pulled out her wand and muttered an inaudible counter-curse which seemed to stop her rapid aging but did not cure it. "Parkinson, take Ginny to the hospital wing." she instructed. Pansy did as she was told. Once they were gone, Professor Donovan rounded on Nott looking angry.

"Where did you learn that curse Nott?" She sounded livid. Nott on the other hand was completely un intimidated and simply grinned back at her.

"Oh you know." Nott replied as if they were gossiping over tea. "Around."

"You mean like around your father?"

"Possibly."

"Detention and twenty points from Slytherin for using dark magic." There was a murmur of fear at the revelation that dark magic had just been used. Nott simply shrugged.

"Do I at least get to finish the tournament?" he asked. Professor Donovan looked over at the blackboard with the tournament grid on it and looked at Harry who took out his wand and nodded to her with a determined look on his face.

"Of course." she finally replied not sounding angry anymore. "Final duel, Harry Potter versus Theodore Nott. Duelers step forward." Harry stepped on to the matt and Professor Donovan walked off. As she passed Harry she stopped to whisper in his ear "Wipe that stupid smirk off his face." to which Harry nodded. Harry gave Nott the smallest bow possible, and then took the attack position. "1... 2... 3... Duel!"

"_Avifors!"_ Harry thought which fired out his own Bat-Bogey Hex. Nott deflected the hex and countered with a few more curses in rapid-fire succession. Harry deflected the first two, then dodged the third one. "_Impedimenta!" _The jinx shot toward Nott who stood there wand out. Harry realized that Nott was using a shield charm just in time to dodge out of the way of the reflected jinx. Harry expected Nott to start attacking again, but instead, Nott just stood there with his wand above his head in the expectant position.

Harry scowled. This was another dueling tactic meant to lure the opponent into a trap. Harry could think of no way to beat Nott. Every curse or jinx that Harry could fire at him, Nott could easily defend. There was nothing else to do but attack Nott head on. Harry thought of Ginny and surged with anger. Harry focused all of his energy into one spell and thought "_STUPIFY!"_

What happened next could not be predicted nor explained. Harry felt all the magic in his body surge inside of him as what could only be described as an explosion erupted from his wand. Harry thought he detected a flicker of fear on Nott's face for the first time just before the force of the spell took Nott off his feet and blasted him in the air till he collided with the wall. For the briefest of moments, Harry felt all powerful, like there was no enemy he couldn't defeat and no task he could not accomplish. It was an amazing feeling, but it only lasted a few seconds before Harry was back to reality and realized that everyone in the room, including Professor Donovan was now surrounding him starring at him in awe.

* * *

It took a long time for Harry to get away from the crowds of people surrounding him asking him how he'd done it and if he could do it again. Even when Harry finally made it to his private dorm, he was followed by Ron and Hermione who would simply not shut up about it.

"That was amazing Harry!" Ron continued to rant. "It was like there was power emanating off of you or channeling itself through you or something."

"I know I've read about something like that before." Hermione also continued to rant. "I think it's called the Merlin Effect. It's only supposed to happen to really powerful wizards in desperate situations or something. Harry how on earth did you do it?"

Harry simply stayed quiet. He had no idea how he had done it, or why he could do it. He did however recognize it. From the way it had been described to him, he had definitely seen it before. He had seen one other wizard achieve the effect that he must have achieved that night. Dumbledore.


	21. A Very Ministry Xmas

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Chapter 21**

**A Very Ministry Xmas**

Harry couldn't have been happier that the holiday break had come just in time to get rid of the mobs of students that had wanted to talk to him about the events at the DA meeting. The news had spread quickly and everyone was totally astounded. Hermione had shown him the book where she had read about the Merlin Effect. The book described the effect as a state when power emanated off of the one who had achieved it. According to the book, there were only a few wizards in history who had ever actually achieved it. They were Merlin himself, a few other names that Harry recognized from History of Magic, and Dumbledore. Most of the wizards had only achieved the effect once or twice in their lives. If it was in fact the Merlin Effect that had happened at the tournament, it was truly an astounding phenomenon, but it also made it very unlikely that it would ever happen again.

Despite successfully escaping the mobs of questions about the Merlin Effect, Harry could not escape the scolding that the fake Professor McGonagall gave for going over her head to arrange the visit to the Ministry of Magic on Xmas. Apparently, Bellatrix Lestrange had gotten better at impersonating the real Professor McGonagall than she was on his first evening at school. When he told her what he would be doing on Xmas, she had given him a lecture that Harry could easily see Professor McGonagall giving him and then took ten points from Gryffindor. Although she hid it well, Harry found that he was able to read between the lines and tell that Lestrange was truly unhappy that he was endorsing the Ministry and he was extremely glad that he had made Lestrange unhappy.

Xmas morning, Harry awoke to find the usual stack of presents at the foot of his bed. Ever since the Weaslys had gone into hiding, they hadn't been able to send any mail and Ron said there was only a fifty to fifty chance that they would be able to send a Xmas present. Sadly, this year there was no sweater from Mrs. Weasly, just a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from Hermione, a box of chocolate cauldrons from Ron, and some Drooble's Best Blowing Gum from Hagrid.

Aside from these, there was one more present from Angie. Harry opened it to reveal a small brown box with the words _Dueler's Wand Servicing Kit_ in gold letters on the top. Inside the box, Harry found a small jar of wand polish, a single glove to protect his wand from a sweaty hand, and a small pocket-size book that explained how to service your wand.

When Harry and Ron went down to the common room, they found Hermione and Ginny waiting for them.

"Happy Xmas Ron." Hermione said when she saw him. She was smiling broadly at Ron and didn't seem to have noticed Harry. Harry wondered briefly why her attitude toward Ron had changed, but his question was answered when Hermione brushed back her hair to reveal a new pair of earrings with blue beads hanging down from them. It didn't take much for Harry to guess who they were from. Harry had figured out Hermione's hint and during the Hogsmeade visit had commented to Ron that buying a girl a present was a good way to rectify a problem. Ron had then proceeded to disappear from Harry and Hermione at the Three Broomsticks saying that he needed to go to the bathroom. Harry guessed that he had gone back to the jewelry store where Harry had bought Ginny's present and bought Hermione's earrings.

"Hi Hermione." said Ron looking slightly nervous. Harry smiled to himself then turned his attention on Ginny.

Seeing Ginny smile again after seeing her do nothing but frown for the last week or so was a sight for sore eyes. It was like being lost at sea for several years and then finally seeing land. She motioned to him to head down for breakfast. Harry and Ginny headed out of the portrait hole leaving Ron and Hermione to enjoy another one of their starring contests. Once outside, Ginny pulled out from beneath her shirt the gold necklace with the red ruby on it that she was wearing and showed it to Harry.

"Thanks." she said brightly.

"Don't mention it." Harry responded.

"I suppose you just got me this to relieve yourself of guilt?"

"Mostly yeah." (They're joking).

"I suppose you expect some kind of return gift?" Harry smiled.

"Ginny your giving it to me right now."

Just outside the doors that led into the great hall, Ginny pulled him to one side and put her arms around him.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like something else?" she offered seductively. At this Harry suddenly turned serious and pulled away from her.

"Ginny listen to me. Bellatrix Lestrange is in the great hall right now. What if she saw us together?" The serious look on Ginny's face revealed that she understood what Harry was saying. If Bellatrix Lestrange saw that Harry Potter had a girlfriend, the first thing she would do is tell Voldemort. "We're friends alright? Just friends." It was clear that Ginny did not like the idea, but did not see any way around it.

"Alright." she finally said. "For now."

Harry had a very enjoyable Xmas breakfast with Ginny, the teachers, and the other students who had chosen to stay for the holiday break which included Steve the new beater, Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones of Hufflepuff, a pair of Ravenclaw twin boys named Sam and Joel, and Pansy Parkinson. Harry spent most of his time chatting happily with Angie who was in a very festive mood and trying to convince the rest of the staff to go caroling with her later on. When Harry was done with his breakfast, he wished everyone a happy Xmas and left the school for the Ministry.

According to the letter the minister had sent him, the Ministry had applied an anti Apparation barrier around itself similar to the one around Hogwarts. In order to get there, Harry would simply have to Apparate to the visitor's entrance. When Harry got to the familiar red phone booth, Scrimgeour was already there waiting for him along with a short bearded wizard holding a camera. The streets were empty (it being Xmas and all) so no one saw him Apparate.

"Hello there Mr. Potter." Scrimgeour said when he saw Harry holding his hand out to shake.

"Minister." Harry said very simply in return. Harry took Scrimgeour's hand reluctantly and shook it. As he did, the wizard with the camera snapped a picture of them shaking hands.

"This is Kevin by the way." said Scrimgeour introducing the man with the camera. "Kevin is a photographer for the Daily Prophet. He'll be following you around taking pictures." Harry suddenly regretted shaking Scrimgeour's hand. Scrimgeour held the door of the old phone booth open for Harry who stepped in. Scrimgeour followed and dialed the usual code for entrance. Kevin squeezed in last.

"Please state you name and purpose of visit." said the familiar cool female voice.

"Rufus Scrimgeour Minister of Magic escorting Kevin Kramer who is here to take photographs for the Daily Prophet, and Harry Potter who is here for a special visit." Scrimgeour said. The cool female voice gave the usual response and produced two badges from the coin slot. When Harry reached out to take his badge however, Scrimgeour waved his hand over the badge vanishing it. "There will be no need for badges Mr. Potter."

The floor of the phone booth immediately sank down into the ground and soon Harry was in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, which wasn't nearly as crowded as it had been when Harry first visited it for his disciplinary hearing, but there were still a few people wandering around. It was also decorated by a large Xmas tree and other Xmas decorations.

As the three of them walked down the Atrium to the elevators, Scrimgeour stopped them near the Fountain of Magical Bretheren which was fully rebuilt except for the wizard in the middle which still had it's head missing. Scrimgeour reached into his pocket and pulled out a few gallions and sickles and dropped them into the fountain. Harry followed suit and Kevin snapped a few pictures of them doing so. They both looked expectantly at Kevin, until he finally threw in a few knuts.

The three of them then made their way to the elevator where Scrimgeour pushed the button for the second level.

"Minister," Harry said breaking the silence. "I've been wondering why you chose today to have me visit the Ministry. Don't most people have the day off for Xmas?"

"Yes and that's why. If I'd had you visit on a normal work day, your presence would distract everyone from their work. Besides, it's not like there's no one here. Most of the department of magical law enforcement is still here."

"Why?"

"Well they all have the common agreement that You-Know-Who probably doesn't celebrate Xmas. Which reminds me, I don't get the day off either so I won't be showing you around. Andrew Donovan volunteered to show you around instead if you don't mind."

"Sure."

Scrimgeour led Harry down through the hallways of cubicles with magical paper airplanes flying between them. At the end of the hallway, they found a door leading to an office with the words _Head of the Auror Office Andrew Donovan_ written on it in gold letters. Scrimgeour knocked on the door. After a minute or so of no answer, he knocked again, and then after another minute of no answer Scrimgeour simply opened the door and walked in.

Andrew Donovan's office was what could be considered Voldemort central. One wall was covered in pictures of Death Eaters in their cloaks and masks. Another wall was covered in prison photos of known Death Eaters. The third wall behind Andrew's desk was covered in pictures of Voldemort. Clearly there were no recent up close pictures of Voldemort. All the recent pictures were faraway shots where he was cloaked. There were also some shot of him looking slightly younger and more human. There were even some pictures of young Tom Riddle.

Andrew Donovan on the other hand had his head down on his desk and was clearly asleep because he was snoring loudly and drooling on the files he was resting his head on. Far from getting mad, Scrimgeour simply sighed fondly and muttered something that sounded like "Bloody workaholic."

Scrimgeour walked over to him and tapped him with his wand which emitted a shock of electricity that woke Andrew with a start.

"Poopytrim" he muttered as he shook off the surprise and took stock of who was standing in his office. "Sorry sir." he said to Scrimgeour once he finally woke up fully.

"It's alright." Scrimgeour said patting him on the shoulder. Scrimgeour then reached into his robes and pulled out a small bottle and handed it to Andrew who took it and took a large gulp of the liquid inside. It wasn't a glass bottle so Harry couldn't see what was inside. "Now show Mr. Potter around and when your done, go home and get some bloody sleep."

"Yes sir." Scrimgeour left. Kevin was about to take a picture of Andrew's office, but Andrew stopped him.

"Hey no pictures of my office. Now step outside so I can talk to Mr. Potter." Kevin gave him a surly look and then left. Andrew then turned his attention on Harry. "Please sit down Mr. Potter. I was hoping that we could do some business real quick before you get on with your visit." Harry sat down. He wasn't to thrilled about the prospect of answering more of Andrew Donovan's questions, but didn't see any way around it. Andrew and Harry stared at each other for a moment across the desk before Andrew broke the silence.

"I don't suppose your going to tell me why you needed to visit Azkaban to retrieve that cup are you."

"Who said anything about a cup?" Harry asked trying to hide his surprise.

"Mike the Azkaban guard." Harry scowled in his mind.

"No I'm not going to tell you. It's between me and Dumbledore."

"And Nymphadora Tonks?"

"Tonks doesn't know what the cup is either, and she had the good sense not to ask."

"Right. Well the ministry has given up on trying to find out by it's own means, but I have my own theories. Do you know what a horcrux is?" Harry's throat suddenly went dry but he forced himself not to show it on his face.

"A what?"

"Never mind." It occurred to Harry that Andrew was trying to gain confirmation for his theory by mentioning it to Harry and seeing how he reacted. It was a clever move, but Harry was glad he had avoided it.

"Tell me Mr. Potter, what do you know about your scar on your forehead." Harry raised his eyebrows. This was and unexpected question.

"Well, it used to hurt whenever Voldemort was feeling particularly angry or pleased, but not so much anymore. Dumbledore believed that Voldemort was using Occlumency to prevent it because he sees it as a threat. It hurts the most when Voldemort touches me, and it came from being touched by the _Avada Kedarva._ That's about it."

"Actually Mr. Potter, the theory that your scar came from being touched by the _Avada Kedarva _is not consistent."

"What do you mean not consistent? I'm the only one whose been touched by the _Avada Kedarva _and lived right?"

"Actually Mr. Potter there is one other person who has been touched by the killing curse and lived."

"Who?"

"Voldemort." Andrew said it as if it was obvious. "The killing curse he fired at you bounced back and hit him. And yet he lived, but he does not have a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Or does he?"

"No." Harry had never thought of this. Harry reached up and touched his scar. If his scar did not come from being touched by the killing curse, then where did it come from?

"Then your scar must have come from somewhere else."

"Do you know where?"

"I have a theory. Not a very likely theory, but it's a theory none the less."

"What is it?"

"It goes with my other theory about horcruxes, so you probably wouldn't understand it."

"_What does that mean?"_ Harry thought. "_Why does a theory about where my scar came from go with a theory about…" _Just then a thought occurred to Harry. A terrible thought. A horrible thought. A thought so incredibly awful that it just simply couldn't be true. Harry pushed the thought to the back of his mind. "_It's not true_." He told himself. "_It's just not true."_

"Well that about does it Mr. Potter." Andrew said after another moment of silence where Andrew had started to nod off, but then taken another swig from the bottle that Scrimgeour had given him. "What's say we get on with this little visit." Harry agreed and the two of them set off.

Overall the experience wasn't as bad as Harry had thought it would be. Andrew Donovan wasn't really a bad guy once you got over the business end of him. Harry spent most of the day shaking hands with heads of departments while Kevin took pictures. Harry found he was actually enjoying learning more about his chosen career from talking to Andrew and other Aurors. The only real negative thing that happened was running into Cornelius Fudge who refused to talk to Harry and instead had cowered in the corner with a group of other Ministry officials that included Dolores Umbridge and Percy Weasly.

By evening, Andrew escorted Harry out of the visitor's entrance where he Apparated back to Hogwarts where Hagrid let him back in. Ginny was waiting for him in the entrance hall.

"How bad was it?" she asked.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be." Harry replied. Harry and Ginny walked back to the common room talking about what had happened during Harry's visit to the Ministry. When they arrived back in the Gryffindor common room however, their conversation was interrupted by the sight of Ron and Hermione snogging.

When Ron and Hermione realized they were no longer alone, which took another minute, what followed could only be described as one of the most uncomfortable silences of all time. The silence broke after two or three minutes when Harry for no explainable reason just started laughing, causing everyone to turn their attention to him and look at him as if he was from Mars.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked sounding offended.

"I don't know." Harry replied honestly. "I just think it's about bloody time." Slowly but surely, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione one by one joined Harry in laughter. Once they were tired of laughing, Harry and Ginny retreated back to their respective rooms to give Ron and Hermione some privacy.

**Author's Note:** And there you have it. Ron and Hermione are now _finally _officially dating. Harry and Ginny on the other hand, well that's another story for another chapter.


	22. A Message From a Dead Man

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note:** This is the part of the story that I have just been waiting to write. This is where it gets controversial. I'm getting inside J. K. Rowling's creation and I'm going to town. Enjoy

**Chapter 22**

**A Message From a Dead Man**

Ron and Hermione dating was not half as bad as Harry had thought it would be. Aside from the occasional nighttime snogging session, their behavior toward each other did not change that much. Obviously they were more formal toward each other, but other than that the only other visible change was that they somehow became even more prone to fights and rows. Harry could not understand how even though they were now dating, they were still at each others throats about every other thing and it didn't seem to affect the relationship. Harry was finally forced to conclude that the reason they fought so much was because they loved each other.

Ginny was another story, a not quite as happy story. Ginny had tried being friends with Harry for a while, but it did not last. Soon she had reverted back to avoiding Harry as much as possible, and although she was not as sad and depressed as she once was it was still hell for Harry to be away from her.

This was made even worse when the Slytherin Quidditch team beat Hufflepuff 200 to 50 which meant that Gryffindor would soon be playing Ravenclaw for the chance to face Slytherin for the Quidditch cup. This meant Quidditch practice had been given a priority boost and Harry was forced into close proximity with a Ginny who refused to even look at him. Only a year ago Harry had been grateful to Ginny's jokes and impressions of people as an excuse to look at her, now Harry had to force himself not to look.

Quidditch practice was not the only thing that had gotten more important with the start of the second term. N.E.W.T. exams were drawing even closer and homework was getting worse. Head Boy duties were slightly more demanding requiring him to fill in for some of the fifth year prefects whose homework was causing them to miss some patrol schedules. D.A. meetings had moved on from dueling to dark magic. The counter-curses to dark spells were very difficult to pull off and they were also difficult to practice because if you were unable to deflect a dark spell, you ended up in the hospital wing. Many of the counter-curses were impossible to practice like the counter-curse to the Cruciatus Curse which Harry immediately committed to memory. He was sure he would need that one.

Despite everything that was going on, everything, even the D.A. meetings got pushed into the back of Harry's mind on one particularly snowy night in early February when Harry Ron and Hermione were hanging out in the Gryffindor common room practicing their human transfiguration. They were pretty much alone except for Dean Thomas and Lavender Brown who were sitting in front of the fireplace talking privately.

"It's not about concentration." Hermione explained. "It's about letting yourself go. You've got to relax completely and just let the change happen to you."

Harry closed his eyes and started to relax. Once every fiber in his body was relaxed, he tapped himself on the head with his wand and thought the incantation "_Vermiculus."_ Harry felt his body go stiff as boards as he started to transform into a wooden chair. His reflexes immediately tried to fight the change, but Harry relaxed them and soon the change was complete.

Despite the fact that Harry no longer had any ears, he could still vaguely hear Hermione saying: "Well done Harry. Oh, Ron your supposed to relax." Harry stopped relaxing which transformed him back into himself. Now that he had his eyes back, he saw that Ron had almost transformed himself into a chair, but seemed to have stopped after his legs. His torso still remained his.

"Here." Hermione said tapping Ron's wooden seat with her wand which turned it back into his bottom half. "You've got to relax Ronald." Hermione stepped behind Ron and started rubbing his shoulders. "Relax." she whispered into his ear. Harry decided to turn away and look out the window at the snow. At first when he saw what he saw, he thought that someone had thrown and large oddly shaped snowball at the window, but a few seconds later he realized what it was.

"Hedwig?" Harry said quietly to himself. Harry walked over to the window and opened it. Hedwig flew down on the table and shook the snow out of her feathers. She then held out her leg which had a rolled up piece of parchment tied to it. Harry took the piece of parchment and let Hedwig nip his fingers affectionately. He then unrolled the parchment. Harry did not read the letter at first. He was distracted by the scrawled up handwriting. _It couldn't be. _Harry thought. He looked down at the bottom of the letter to see who it was from, but there was no signature. The letter was short. It read:

_On your next Hogsmeade visit, go to the cave where you met Sirius fourth year. Come alone. Bring horcrux. Tell no one except Ron and Hermione if you must. Destroy this letter._

Harry had to reread the letter several times to make sure he had read it right. Then he had to pinch himself to make sure this wasn't some kind of dream. This couldn't be real. It was to incredible. But who else knew about the horcruxes? Who else knew about the cave where Harry had met Sirius fourth year.

"What is it Harry?" Harry heard Hermione ask. Harry turned and saw that she was standing behind a chair that then turned back into Ron. Harry motioned to them to go up to his room which they did. Harry did not tell them about the letter right away. Instead, he ran over to his desk and searched through papers until he found the letter he had gotten on his birthday. He compared the two letters. There was no mistaking it. These letters were written by the same person.

"What is it Harry?" Ron asked impatiently.

"It's a letter from Dumbledore." Harry replied. There was total silence at these words. Ron and Hermione just stood there gaping at him. Ron was the one who broke the silence.

"Harry, you did say you've got a letter from Dumbledore didn't you?"

"Yes."

"But Harry," said Hermione, "Dumbledore is-"

"Dead. I know. Just read this." Harry handed Ron and Hermione the letter which they took and read. There was another prolonged silence. Both Ron and Hermione seemed to be rereading the letter several times. Hermione was the first to look up at Harry.

"Harry, I know what this seems like, but it wouldn't be that difficult to use magic to fake Dumbledore's handwriting." Harry rolled his eyes. Why does Hermione have to question everything?

"You really think I haven't thought of that? Hermione who else knew about the horcruxes? Who else knew about the cave where we met Sirius?" At this point, Ron looked up as well.

"Harry," Ron said, "maybe this letter was written before he died, like the one you got on your birthday."

"That's a possibility." Harry said. "I guess I'll find out this weekend during the Hogsmeade visit."

"Harry!" Hermione said astonished. "Your not actually going are you? It could be a trap!"

"I've thought of that too Hermione!" Harry snapped. "Read it again. It says that I'm allowed to tell you and Ron about it. If you were setting a trap, wouldn't you tell me not to tell anyone so that no one could make the suggestion that it might be a trap?" Hermione was speechless.

"But Harry, what if-"

"There's no point talking me out of it Hermione. If it's not a trap I'm not going to miss out on something important, and if it is a trap I can take care of myself. I'm going and that's all there is to it. Speaking of which…" Harry snatched back the letter and set it on fire with a snap of his fingers and then threw it into the waste basket.

The next few days leading up to the Hogsmeade weekend couldn't have gone by slower. If Harry had ever felt more curious and excited about anything else, he could not remember it. Was Dumbledore still alive? That would be great, but it didn't seem very likely. Ron's idea that Dumbledore had written the letter before he died and left instructions that the letter be delivered to Harry on that specific day seemed more likely. But why would Dumbledore make such a strange request? The only way to find out would be to go to the cave.

Then there was the fact that the letter had instructed him to bring the horcrux to the cave with him. This was perhaps the most disturbing part of the letter as no one except Ron, Hermione and Ginny knew that Harry had the Cup of Hufflepuff. Maybe Andrew Donovan, but he did not know about the cave where Harry had met Sirius, so he could not have possibly written the letter. Harry could only guess that when Dumbledore had written the letter, he had been referring to the Locket of Slytherin, not knowing that the locket they found inside that cave would be a fake. Even so, Harry planned to bring the cup in hopes that whoever or whatever waited for him inside that cave might provide some kind of explanation as to how to destroy a horcrux.

Harry could barely pay attention during his classes on Friday. Harry was thinking so intensely about what he would find in that cave that he did not hear Professor Donovan address him during that day's Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

"I'm sorry what?" Harry stuttered when he realized that he had just been asked a question and had not heard it. Professor Donovan rolled her eyes and Harry caught a glimpse of a smirk.

"I asked you if you could tell me what different animals a Vampire can transform into." Harry shook his head out of his daydreaming state. Quickly his mind focused around the fact that they were covering Vampires today. Harry searched his mind. He knew this.

"A Vampire can transform into a bat, a rat, or a wolf."

"Very good Mr. Potter, and as an added note, a Vampire can also control those particular animals. Now here's a popular question that will probably be on your written N.E.W.T. exam. True or false. Daylight is deadly to a Vampire." Several hands shot into the air. Professor Donovan called on Dean Thomas.

"True." Dean said confidently.

"False actually. Contrary to popular belief, Vampires can walk around in the day, however for a Vampire to do so is unnatural and therefore the Vampire will be unable to use most of his powers and will be characterized as being especially tired. Now here's another popular exam question. True or false. Vampire's are the natural allies of Voldemort." Most students still winced at the sound of his name, but a few students had been able to successfully say Voldemort. Only a few students rose their hands to this question. Hermione's hand was up first and most anxiously, but Professor Donovan in an attempt to get the rest of the class more involved tried to call on someone else as often as possible. She called on Anthony Goldstein of Ravenclaw.

"False. Vampires are actually the natural enemies of…" Anthony stopped in mid-sentence. He had never said the name before and realized that he had just forced himself into a bad position. Professor Donovan motioned for him to continue. "V… v…" Anthony closed his eyes as if he was about to jump off a cliff. "Voldemort." Anthony opened his eyes and a surprised look came onto his face. "Wow. That was easy." Professor Donovan smiled.

"That is correct. The reason Vampires are the enemies of Voldemort is not widely known, but I've been told that the blood of a pure-blood wizard is better tasting than that of a half-blood or muggle."

Harry tried to pay attention to what Professor Donovan was saying, but couldn't think about anything but the upcoming Hogsmeade visit. Luckily that night's DA meeting was about patronuses so Harry was allowed to tune out while Professor Donovan demonstrated her own patronus, which appeared to be a dog of some sort, and let the rest of the class practice theirs.

* * *

The next day, Harry was to anxious to eat. As he, Ron and Hermione walked down to Hogsmeade village, Harry did his best not to listen to Hermione's constant attempts to dissuade him from going. There was nothing that Hermione or anyone else could say that would change his mind. He was sure that today he would get some long awaited answers and come closer to the ultimate goal of defeating Voldemort. He reached into his pocket and felt the Cup of Hufflepuff. He had also brought the fake horcrux from the previous year, just in case Dumbledore was still alive. If he was, he would probably know who R.A.B. is.

The three of them made their way to the outskirts of the village where they had originally met Sirius fourth year. Harry then turned to his two friends and told them to wait for him. Hermione told him to be careful and Ron nodded in agreement. Harry then made his way up the mountain until he found the cave. Harry pulled out his wand and held it at the ready as he stepped into the cave in case there was a hooded and masked Death Eater waiting for him.

At first glance, there was no one in the cave, but when Harry stepped fully into the cave, a man standing to the side of the entrance quickly walked up beside him and grabbed his arm. Before Harry had the chance to turn his head and look at the man, he was being forced through a small rubber tube. It took a moment for Harry to realized that someone had just apparated him. Harry looked around in confusion at the house he was in. It was a house he did not recognize.

And then with a jolt of horror, he saw the man. His sallow face, his hooked nose, his greasy black hair, his all black robes. Every fiber in Harry's being pulsed with anger as he identified the only man he hated as much as Voldemort. The man who had told Voldemort about the prophecy marking his parents for death. The man who before Harry's own eyes had murdered Dumbledore. It was Snape.

**Author's Note: **And if you think that was a twist, just wait. The next chapter is going to blow your mind. As a special note, most of my knowledge about Vampires comes from Bram Stoker's Dracula.


	23. Dumbledore is Not Dead

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note:** Didn't I tell you I'd blow your mind. This chapter is named after a website I was told to visit after finishing HBP. Sorry it took so long but there's a lot of information in this chapter and I wanted to make sure I got it all right. Also the night I finally finished it, I couldn't log in because of a software glitch, so if you want to get mad at someone, get mad at the people who run the website.

**Chapter 23**

**Dumbledore is Not Dead**

Harry did not think. There was no need to think. He had fought this duel a hundred times in his mind. He knew he needed to keep his mouth and his mind closed. Harry couldn't use Occlumency, so his only hope was to act before Snape had a chance to react. He was extremely glad that he already had his wand out.

"_Impedimenta!" _Harry shouted in his mind. Snape was taken totally by surprise. He was blasted back into the wall. Once he hit the ground and recovered from the shock he pulled out his own wand but Harry was ready for it. "_Expeliamus!"_ The wand flew out of his hand. The look on Snape's face confirmed the victory. It was no longer smug like it usually was, but surprised and Harry detected a flicker of fear. He now had Snape exactly where he wanted him.

"Potter I'm on your side!" Snape shouted. Harry couldn't believe he would actually try and talk his way out of it. He didn't actually expect Harry to buy that kind of lie did he?

"Shut up you liar!" Harry responded. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't finish you right now." Harry was pulsing with hatred. He was sure whatever fake reason Snape gave him would just infuriate him further which was exactly was he wanted. Harry had never used the Avada Kedarva before and knew he would need as much hatred as possible to pull it off.

"Potter, Dumbledore is not dead!" Of all the things Snape had ever said, this was the worst.

"BULLSHIT!" Harry cried. Now's the time. Do it now.

"Harry I would appreciate it if you would kindly watch your language." Harry froze. All his hatred was replaced by shock. Harry turned around, to where the voice of the person who had just spoken had come from. And there he was in the next room, sitting in a chair behind a table smiling, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. It was Dumbledore. He was alive.

"Greetings Harry. It is good to see you again." said Dumbledore. Harry did not respond. His mind was still taking in what he was seeing. Less than a year ago he had seen the murder of the man that was now sitting in a chair smiling happily at him. Hagrid had brought his dead body down to the lake where it had been incased in a tomb. That tomb was still there. Harry saw it every time he went outside and it had always filled him with sadness. And yet here he was. A thought occurred to Harry that caused his wand to jerk away from Snape and point directly at Dumbledore.

"How do I know your not a Death Eater using Polyjuice Potion?" Harry said threateningly. Dumbledore simply nodded.

"That's quite possible." he said.

"Tell me something only the real Dumbledore would know!" Dumbledore considered this for a second.

"My favorite flavor jam is raspberry." Silence followed these words, broken only when Harry dropped his wand hand to his side and started laughing. The fact that he had chosen to say something from an idle conversation they'd had a year ago rather than bringing up the prophecy or the horcruxes was not only perfect proof, but it was just so like Dumbledore that Harry could not help but laugh.

"It's good to see you again too Professor." Harry finally said after his laughter had subsided.

"Actually Harry there is no need to call me Professor any longer. Since I am no longer headmaster of Hogwarts, I give you my permission to call me Albus."

"All right… Albus."

"Please sit down." Dumbledore said motioning to the chair opposite his own at the table. As Harry sat down, he took notice of a few other things. The first was Fawkes sitting on a perch in the corner of the room, which was a comforting sight that alleviated any other doubts that Harry might have had that this was not the real Dumbledore. The other things he noticed were not quite as comforting. Dumbledore looked terrible. His hair was tangled and unkempt. The night gown that he was wearing was wrinkled and stained as if it was the only thing he'd been wearing for the last few days. To put it quite simply, Dumbledore looked (if it is possible) older than he had ever looked before. As he sat there, he decided to ask a question that might take his mind off how Dumbledore looked.

"Where are we sir?" Dumbledore smiled at Harry's blatant unfamiliarity with using the name Albus.

"We are in Severus' house on Spinner's End" At this point Snape came and sat down in between Harry and Dumbledore on the right side of the table. Harry had totally forgotten that Snape was still there. He expected Snape to demand some kind of apology for the attack or at least shoot Harry a contemptuous glare, but he did not. He simply stared down at the table.

"Sir." Harry said. "How did you do it? How did you… fake your death?" Dumbledore smiled.

"I thought you'd never ask. Before I tell you how, I should like to tell you why. You see Harry, many people in the wizarding world live under the belief that I am the only wizard in the world capable of defeating Voldemort. There was a time when this was true. However, the duel I had with Voldemort two years ago confirmed for me a fact which I have long since feared. Since returning to power, Voldemort has become more powerful than I ever would have believed possible. His skill with the Dark Arts has become so great that if I were to duel him to the death, he would probably win. I believe that Voldemort realized this at the same time that I did. Up until that duel, I possessed the advantage that Voldemort feared me. I no longer possess that advantage.

"After careful deliberation of this problem, I decided that if I was ever to defeat Voldemort, I would need to give myself an advantage. The opportunity to do just that, came near the beginning of last years school year when Severus came to me and told me that young Draco Malfoy had been made a Death Eater and had been given a special assignment by Lord Voldemort himself. Although neither of us knew for sure what this assignment was, we could both guess pretty easily that it involved my murder. Severus also informed me that in a moment of emotional weakness, he had made the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy that if Draco could not complete his task, Severus would do it instead. From the situation that was placed in front of me, I was able to develop a plan in which we would make it look as if Severus killed me, thereby saving him from death by the Unbreakable Vow, and at the same time giving me the advantage of Voldemort thinking that I was dead."

"But sir," Harry said after thinking over what Dumbledore had just said, "since your alive, doesn't that mean that Snape broke the Unbreakable Vow?" Harry tried not to sound to hopeful.

"Thankfully Harry that is not how the Unbreakable Vow works. The only thing that can determine weather or not the vow has been broken, is the person that the vow has been made with. As long as Narcissa Malfoy believed that Severus had killed me, he remained safe from the death that would surely follow had Narcissa realized the truth. Of course, now that Narcissa has sadly passed on to the next life, Severus is no longer in danger of her wrath." Harry noticed that Snape seemed to shudder at these words. "I could go out in public tomorrow and Severus would not drop dead."

"Well then why don't you?" Harry asked. Dumbledore let out a mournful sigh.

"I will come to that in a moment, first let me tell you how. As I'm sure Mad-Eye Moody must have taught you, and Unforgivable Curse needs to have a certain amount of magic behind it in order to have the desired effect. Therefore if one tried to use one of the curses, but did not really mean it, it would not work. All Snape had to do would be to slip me a vial of Draught of the Living Death, which would put me into a comatose state very similar to death but not quite, and then attack me with an Avada Kedarva that he did not really mean. I admit that it is not my best plan, but it is the best I could do with what I had to work with."

"But sir, you fell off the astronomy tower. How did you survive that?" Dumbledore gave another mournful sigh.

"I have Fawkes to thank for that. The song that Fawkes sang, much like his tears has certain healing effects. Fawkes also helped to prevent me from being enclosed inside my tomb by transporting me away as it caught fire."

"So sir, why do you have to keep your being alive a secret?"

"I'm afraid that is the bad part of my explanation. You see, falling off the astronomy tower was not part of my plan. It seems that Severus got carried away with the act and meant the Avada Kedarva more than he intended to. As powerful as a phoenix's healing powers are, my internal injuries simply cannot be healed. Under Severus' care, I have remained alive, but in my weakened condition I am even less likely to defeat Voldemort than I was before."

"What are you saying?" Harry began to feel his happiness and hope that he'd received upon discovering Dumbledore alive slowly began to slip away. He thought he knew what was coming.

"I may not be dead now Harry, but I'm afraid that it is only a matter of time. Soon I will really die." Harry hung his head. Dumbledore had already died once and that was painful enough. How could he be expected to experience Dumbledore's death twice. "Do not feel sad Harry. I have led a long and full life, and as I have often said there are worse things in life than death. For me, the idea of death is much more like going to sleep after a very long day." Harry let out a low sigh. Harry couldn't quite understand Dumbledore's logic, but the fact that he was so ready for his fate seemed to ease the pain.

"But Harry" said Dumbledore, "I am not dead yet. And there are still some useful things I can do while I am still alive. Which brings us to the reason I have summoned you to me today. The horcrux." Harry's mind snapped out of mourning back into the room in Snape's house.

"Right, about that. I don't know if you noticed Albus but the locket we got from the cave last year wasn't the Locket of Slytherin. It was a fake."

"I was pretty preoccupied at the time, but I did notice. Do you have the fake horcrux with you?"

"Yes sir." Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the fake horcrux which he handed to Dumbledore. "There's a note inside." As Dumbledore examined the locket, he seemed more interested in the actual locket than the message inside. When he read the note, he smiled.

"Well then Harry, you have my reassurance that if R.A.B. got the real Locket of Slytherin, he has destroyed it."

"Then you know who R.A.B. is?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yes. R.A.B. stands for Reginald Alabaster Bellicose." Harry stared in odd surprise. He had no idea who that person was, although the name Bellicose sounded like he had heard it somewhere. Dumbledore saw the confusion on Harry's face and decided to elaborate. "Reginald Alabaster Bellicose was many things his life before he died. He was an old classmate of young Tom Riddle and a long time rival. He was the trouble maker of that generation. He was one of many Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers whose career was cut short by Voldemort's curse, and a good friend of mine. He was also my nephew, though very few people know that."

"I see." Harry replied. Harry couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. He had expected something more epic for R.A.B.

"Although it is slightly surprising to know that R.A.B. knew about the horcruxes, I would be much more interested to discover who his accomplice was."

"What?"

"If you remember Harry, the way the locket was protected made it so that only two people working together could successfully acquire it. If we knew who that accomplice was, that person might be able to help find the remaining horcruxes." Dumbledore went back to examining the fake horcrux thoughtfully. "Tell me Harry, did you receive my pensieve for your birthday?"

"Yes sir."

"And have you watched all of the memories that it came with yet?"

"No sir, just the one from after my dad saved Snape." Snape seemed to take notice of this sentence and looked up. When he did Harry caught a glimpse of the sad sorrowful expression on his face before Snape looked back down and continued his starring contest with the table.

"I would recommend that you watch the memory that comes from your mother on her graduation day. That is a particularly good memory."

"What will I find there sir?"

"You'll see." Harry rolled his eyes. Dumbledore had this annoying habit of making Harry find things out on his own.

"Moving on," Dumbledore continued. "It is my understanding that you have acquired the Cup of Hufflepuff." Harry's eyes widened in amazement. Harry was used the idea that Dumbledore knew pretty much everything, but how could he possibly know about this? Dumbledore read the confusion on his face and decided to answer his question before he asked it. "I was told this information by the only person aside from yourself and Severus who knows that I am still alive. I believe you have met Andrew Donovan."

"Donovan?" Harry asked, thoroughly confused by now. "How does Donovan know your alive?"

"I told him Harry. You see, Severus here has been useful as my spy into Voldemort's world. He has been able to tell me upcoming moves that Voldemort is planning to make, and he successfully saved Draco Malfoy's life and took him to where you would find him. But as good a spy as Severus is, he is a Death Eater and therefore cannot go out into public without risking arrest for my murder. Because of this I needed a second contact, but I wanted someone outside the Order of the Phoenix that I could trust. Andrew is a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic and he is also, like R.A.B. a relative of mine, so I know that he is trustworthy. He told me all about your little plan and I must say that I am impressed with your quick thinking. Now have you brought the cup?"

"Yes." Harry said reaching into his pocket and revealing the cup. "I tried to destroy it, but it seems to be magically protected."

"Indeed. I assume you are wondering why this cup is so much more difficult to destroy than the diary. This is the thing about horcruxes. When a piece of a soul is inside an inanimate object, it realizes that the object cannot protect itself from destruction and instead takes steps to protect the object from conventional means of destruction. This rule would not apply to living horcruxes so the snake could probably be killed just like any other snake. The reason that you were able to destroy the diary is because at the time, the piece of soul was in the midst of escaping the object and therefore it's defenses were down. The only way to destroy a horcrux is to coax the piece of soul into escaping by using the object conventionally, like the way Ginny Weasly wrote in the diary coaxed the piece of soul into escaping. That is how I destroyed the ring. I simply slipped in onto my finger and destroyed it with a simple Reductor Curse, though not before it had taken my entire arm from me.

"This cup could probably be destroyed easily enough. All I would have to do is drink some water from this cup, and then destroy it."

"Sir." said Snape speaking for the first time in a while but not breaking his gaze at the table. "If there is a risk involved, I think that I should be the one to drink from the cup." Dumbledore considered Snape for a moment and then shrugged.

"Yes I suppose that would be for the best." Dumbledore replied before turning his attention back to Harry. "And with this horcrux gone that leaves only three horcruxes left to be destroyed before Voldemort becomes mortal."

"Right." Harry replied. "The snake Nagini, something that once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw, and… hang on, that leaves only two." At these words the smile on Dumbledore's face dropped down into a frown. "What?" Harry asked. Dumbledore did not seem keen to answer this question. Instead he seemed to think that Snape had the right idea of starring at the table and followed suite.

"Harry." Dumbledore said without looking up. "Do you remember when I said I had told you everything I knew about Voldemort?"

"Yes sir."

"I lied." Harry was stunned to hear those two words coming from the mouth of Albus Dumbledore, who as far as Harry knew, had never told Harry a lie. He had refused to tell Harry some things, but he had never outright lied to him had he?

"There is something I have not told you." Dumbledore continued. "It is something I should have told you, something I have wanted to tell you for a very long time. But the truth is that what I have to tell you is perhaps the most terrible, awful thing that anyone has ever had to tell anyone else as far as I know, and as emotionally strong as I am, I simply could not bring myself to tell you."

Harry gaped at Dumbledore in amazement. Only two years ago, Dumbledore had told him that Harry would one day have to either kill Voldemort, or be killed by Voldemort because he could not go on living as long as Voldemort did. What could possibly be worse than that?

"What is it?" Harry asked, not sure he really wanted an answer.

"There is one more horcrux. One that Voldemort did not even know existed until two years ago when he found that he was connected to it mentally. One that Voldemort created by accident seventeen years ago."

The thought that had entered Harry's mind once in Andrew Donovan's office reentered his mind. "_It can't be."_ he thought. "_It just can't be."_ But the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense.

"Yes Harry." Dumbledore said. "That is it. That is why you can speak parseltounge. That is why you are connected to Voldemort. That is why you have that scar on your forehead." Harry's hand reached up and touched his scar. He didn't even realize that Dumbledore was looking at him now, nor did he really care.

"It's me." Harry said. "The last horcrux is me."


	24. SelfLament

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note:** I think that this is my favorite chapter. In this chapter, Harry goes through the five stages of death. For those of you who don't know, they are: Denial, Anger, Fear, Bargaining, and Acceptance. At least, I think that's them. If I just made a huge mistake please tell me.

**Chapter 24**

**Self-Lament**

Dumbledore was still talking. Talking about how he had intended to fight Voldemort himself but could not in his weakened condition. Talking about how he had made so many mistakes in not telling Harry about the plan beforehand.

But Harry heard nothing. Dumbledore's lips were moving, but no words were coming out. It was as if the entire world had gone silent, or more accurately, as if Harry had gone deaf. Harry's mind could not take in what Dumbledore said because it was to busy trying to comprehend the horrifying fact that had just been told to him. A piece of Voldemort's soul lived inside of Harry. It was still connected to Voldemort through the scar on his forehead. The only possible way for Voldemort to die would be if Harry died first.

It was hopeless. How could Harry possibly defeat Voldemort if he was dead? It made no sense. The prophecy said that one of them had to die by the others hand. How could Harry kill Voldemort if he had to die in order for Voldemort to become mortal? Unless the prophecy meant for Voldemort to kill Harry all along.

"_It's not true."_ Harry decided in his mind. "_It's just not true. It's all a joke. Yes that's it. It's all just a really bad joke." _The very notion was feeble and absurd but Harry clung to it like the edge of the Grand Canyon. He stared at Dumbledore waiting for him to light up with a smile and tell him it was all a joke. But it did not happen. Dumbledore had stopped talking. He was now starring at Harry with a mournful look on his face. He looked at Harry as if he was already dead.

"I'm so very sorry Harry." Dumbledore finally said. "If there was anything I could have done I would have done it."

"Whose going to defeat Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"With me unable to, I believe that you are the only one capable of defeating him."

"But how?"

"I don't know."

"Your joking right?" Dumbledore's head fell down into his hand. He did not answer. "Right?" Harry repeated. He was practically begging Dumbledore to say yes, but he would not get what he wanted. Dumbledore looked at Harry with a pitying expression and then turned to Snape.

"Severus, apparate Harry back to the cave. I believe in his current frame of mind he might splinch himself." Dumbledore said.

"Yes sir." Snape replied. Snape stood up and offered his hand to Harry. Harry ignored it. He kept starring at Dumbledore waiting for him to admit that it was all a joke. When Harry finally gave up on that he searched his mind for any possible explanation as to why Dumbledore would tell him this lie.

"_Maybe he is a Death Eater after all. Maybe this is all a trick by Voldemort."_ Harry took hold of this idea instead, but it lasted even shorter that the idea that it was all a joke. Harry continued to search his mind but could find no other explanation for why Dumbledore would tell a lie like this. There was no denying it. Dumbledore was telling the truth. Harry was a horcrux.

"Potter!" Snape's harsh voice broke Harry's line of thought. Harry looked up at Snape and instantly hated him. He looked back at Dumbledore and began to feel hatred for him as well. Harry knew the hatred was undeserved, but now all he wanted to do was get as far away from both of them as possible. With this thought in mind, Harry grabbed Snape's hand.

"Goodbye Harry." said Dumbledore. "I hope that I might see you again before I die, but I doubt it." Harry suddenly hated Dumbledore again. Why did he have to fake his own death? Why did he have to die again?

"Goodbye sir." said Harry. With that Harry felt the familiar uncomfortable feeling of apparating and in a second he was back in the cave where Snape had first surprised him. Harry jerked his hand away from Snape's. He suddenly felt that he should have said a better goodbye to Dumbledore since he would probably never see him again. He hated Snape even more for taking him away from Dumbledore. Harry greatly desired to get away from Snape, but he would not get his wish so soon.

"Potter, wait." said Snape. Harry stopped in his tracks. He turned to Snape and saw that he was looking at Harry with a look he was sure he had never seen on that man's face.

"_Is that sorrow I see on his face?" _thought Harry. "_Is that regret? Is that guilt?"_

"Potter, I…" He looked like he was having trouble saying what he wanted to say. "I want to apologize."

"Apologize?" The measure of Harry's anger shot through the roof almost instantly. "You want to apologize? Now? For what? For being a dick of a teacher?" Harry moved swiftly toward Snape. Snape had once towered over Harry, but since the start of his sixth year they were almost the same height, and over the summer Harry had grown to about an inch taller than him. Snape was suddenly intimidated and stepped back.

"Um… yeah… well…" Snape stuttered.

"Or maybe you've finally realized that it was your insults and mockery that made Sirius leave his house. It's your fault Sirius died!"

"Potter I never meant to-" Snape stumbled backward against the cave wall and Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at him.

"Or maybe you want to apologize for telling Voldemort about the prophecy!" The look of horror on Snape's face said that he did not think Harry knew about this. "You're the reason my parents are dead!"

"Potter that was a-"

"DON'T TELL ME IT WAS A MISTAKE!" Harry screamed. He was now practically stabbing his wand into Snape's throat. "I bet you were happy as a pig in shit when you found out they were dead!" Snape closed his eyes in fear and a single tear rolled down his cheek. And Harry was glad. Glad to make Snape feel any negative emotion.

"And to think," Harry said in a lower but still very angry voice. "I actually felt sorry for you when I saw your memory." There was a pause. "Do you know what I wish?" Harry continued. "I wish you weren't a spy. I wish I could be justified to kill you."

Slowly but surely, Harry took a step back and lowered his wand. Snape opened one eye and saw Harry put his wand back in his pocket. Harry turned to leave, and then decided that he would not hold in his anger any longer. He turned right back around and drove his fist into Snape's oversized nose. To finally punch Snape in the face, something he had wanted to do since first year, felt extremely good. It felt so good, Harry decided to punch him a few more times.

When Harry was done his fist stung and one of his knuckles had a small cut on it. Snape was much worse. His nose was bleeding and he had two black eyes. Harry shook his hand to stop the pain.

"Apology accepted." Harry said disdainfully. Without another look at Snape, Harry turned and left the cave. He made his way back into Hogsmeade feeling very good about what he had done.

Once Harry was back in Hogsmeade though, he saw Ron and Hermione talking closely together and he was suddenly gripped with fear. He realized that Ron and Hermione would want to know what he had found in the cave, and why he had been gone so long. How would they react when he told them that he was a horcrux, that he would have to die in order for Voldemort to. There was no telling how they would react. This was big. Bigger and more horrible than anything else Harry had ever had to tell them, and he was afraid of how they would react.

"Harry!" Ron said when they saw him. Harry's fear began to grow.

"Harry." said Hermione. "What did you find?" Harry had a cold feeling in his chest that he was sure had nothing to do with the temperature. For a while he said nothing.

"Harry." said Ron. "Come on, tell us." Harry couldn't tell them, which was good enough because he really didn't want to tell them. It was to horrible.

"Nothing." Harry finally said. "There was nothing there. Just a wild goose chase." Ron and Hermione clearly didn't believe him.

"But then why were you gone for so long?" Hermione asked. Harry's hands started to shake.

"I waited around in case someone showed up." Harry cursed himself for not being able to think up a better lie.

"For two hours?" asked Ron. Harry looked down at the ground trying to think of a good lie that would get them to stop asking questions.

"Harry your shaking." said Hermione sounding concerned. Harry looked down at his right hand which was indeed shaking. He held it up and grabbed it with his left hand to stop the shaking. "What happened to your hand?" Harry looked up at Hermione and then back down at his hand and saw with horror that she had noticed the cut on his knuckle from where he had punched Snape.

"It's nothing." Harry said trying to hide his hand behind his back.

"Let me see." Hermione reached for his hand.

"It's nothing!" Harry shouted, jerking his hand back. He cursed himself again. Any suspicion they'd had before now that he was lying had just been confirmed. He had to get away from them. "Get away from me! Both of you get away from me!" Harry ran right through them and kept running as fast as he could. He was afraid. Afraid of having to tell anyone that he had to die. Because if he told someone, he would have to accept the truth himself.

Harry ran all the way back to Hogwarts, but did not go back into the castle. He instead found a private spot near the woods by the lake. The same spot where he and his godfather had once been attacked by dementors. Harry sat down beside a tree and looked out over the lake. The more he tried not to think about his terrible fate, the more he thought about it. It was like trying to be friends with a boggert.

"_Maybe I can find a way around it."_ Harry found himself thinking. "_Maybe Voldemort doesn't really have to die. Maybe he can just be sent to Azkaban. No that wouldn't work. He'd just escape. Maybe he could receive the dementor's kiss. Yeah that would serve him right. He could never come back from that. But how could I get a dementor to turn on him? The dementors are his allies. Maybe I could just make him fall from power again. All of his followers could just be imprisoned again. No, that didn't work once it wont work again. Another one of his followers would bring him back again."_

It was hopeless. Harry finally decided that instead of trying to bargain with his destiny he could simply throw rocks into the lake to distract himself from it. Harry had no idea how long he sat out there because he had no idea how long ago he had come back from Snape's house. The sun was going down. Harry decided it must be dinner time, but Harry felt no hunger. More than that, Harry did not want to be around people. People who had their whole lives ahead of them. It would be like torture. Even more so he did not want Ron and Hermione questioning him about the events that had taken place in the cave.

Just then Harry heard a twig snap behind him. He turned his head but saw no one so he ignored it and resumed throwing rocks in the lake. A second later he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder. Harry jerked his head around to see who it was. Once again he saw no one, but this time he knew there was someone there. Someone invisible. Harry pulled out his wand and held it above his head.

"Who's there?" he demanded. Suddenly his wand shot out from his hand. He had been hit by a disarming charm. Harry quickly rushed to grab his wand, but then he saw it. A hand floating in mid-air, sticking out from an invisibility cloak, pointing a wand at him. Harry stood there frozen waiting for whoever it was to reveal themselves.

"You know, if I was a Death Eater you wouldn't have lasted two seconds." Harry smiled as he recognized the voice. The figure took off the invisibility cloak and let it drop to the ground. Ginny Weasly was truly a sight for sore eyes.

"Hi Ginny. How did you know where I was?"

"I peeked at the Marauder's Map. That is really a very useful tool."

"And who told you that you could go into my room and mess with my things?" Ginny smiled.

"Since when do I ask for permission? What are you doing out here anyway? Ron and Hermione said you were upset about something." Harry suddenly remembered why he was upset and realized that he no longer felt like looking at Ginny. He turned away and looked back out across the lake.

"It's nothing."

"You're lying." Ginny took a step toward him. "What's wrong Harry." He did not answer. "It's okay. You can tell me."

"No I can't." Ginny put her hand on his shoulder. Harry looked at her. She looked so incredibly beautiful. Harry had already made her suffer enough just by being unwilling to be with her. There was no way he could possibly make her suffer any more by telling her that he had to die.

The image that had once flashed in his mind at Bill and Fleur's wedding that he had once been afraid of flashed in his mind again, and this time he held on to it. In a moment of clarity, Harry realized just how deep his feelings for Ginny ran. He now completely understood that he never wanted to be with anyone else for as long as he lived. He loved her, and the world where he didn't want to be with her suddenly seemed so far away. He began to realize that he'd been a fool for pushing Ginny away. He wouldn't do that anymore. He was going to be with her, and he wouldn't let a silly thing like death stop that.

He walked up to her and put his arms around her waist in a light embrace. They looked each other in the eye.

"Ginny." Harry began. "I can't tell you why I'm upset, because all it will accomplish is to make you even more upset. It's something painful, horrible, and terrible, and it's something that no one, not even you can help me with in any way." Ginny allowed a little sadness to show on her face, but gave a knowing nod which meant that she understood him completely.

"But I can tell you this." Harry continued. "What it is has made me realize that you and I can't be allowed to waste the time we have together. That's why I'm going to tell you something I should've told you a long time ago. I love you."

"Oh Harry." said Ginny. Her expression had softened into a smile that seem to mean that she had been waiting for this moment for a long time. "I love you too. I've always loved you." Neither of them said anything else. There was nothing else to say. The time for talking was over.

They're lips came together into a passionate prolonged kiss. They had kissed before, but not like this. It was as if all they're passion for each other had been building up to this very moment. And this time the moment did not end right away. They continued to kiss and just kept on kissing and started to undress each other. They had come to an unspoken agreement to treat this night as if it was they're last night together. They would leave nothing unsaid, and nothing undone.

* * *

The night was beautiful. Harry could see that from the ground he was lying on looking up at the starry sky. It was almost as beautiful as the half-naked girl wrapped around him in a deep sleep underneath the invisibility cloak that they had used for a blanket. It was in that moment while Harry lay there remembering how he hadn't felt different when he turned seventeen and now suddenly he did, that Harry accepted his fate.

"_So I have to die"_ Harry thought. "_Then I guess I'll die. It'll be a small price to pay to destroy Voldemort. To keep Voldemort away from Ginny. And not just Ginny, but Ron and Hermione and Angie and everyone else I care about. It's just like Dumbledore always said, there are worse things in life than death, like for example loss. Well I'm not going to lose anyone else I love because I'm going to kill Voldemort. As for how, well I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."_ Harry smiled to himself. Then he sat up slightly and looked around the clearing that they were laying in. "_Now where are my pants?"_


	25. Angelica's Lost Love

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **So sorry I made you all wait so long for this chapter. Truth is ever since I finished the last chapter, I've been on somewhat of a break. And it hasn't helped that I've had mid-terms. Hope you enjoy. Unanswered questions are answered in this chapter.

**Chapter 25**

**Angelica's Lost Love**

The next morning, Harry lent Ginny the invisibility cloak so that she could sneak back up to her room. Harry hung back at the lake. He thought long and hard about what he would say to Ron and Hermione. He would not tell them that he was a horcrux, that much was for sure. That was something he would just have to deal with on his own. He would tell them that Dumbledore was still alive, that the Cup of Hufflepuff would be destroyed, that Andrew Donovan and Snape were his spies, and so on. It didn't feel right to tell his friends only the half truth, but Harry knew that no good could come from telling them the whole truth. He would have to tell them eventually, but for now he would just pretend that everything was fine for as long as he was able to.

Harry knew their responses long before he told them. Ron would have questions. The same questions that Harry had asked Dumbledore. The why and the how. Harry was confident he could answer the questions easily enough. Ordinarily, going through the experience again would be a painful prospect, but compared to his own death that he would one day have to face it didn't seem so bad.

Hermione would have criticisms. The same criticisms that Harry now had for himself. He could think of several things he should have told Dumbledore about while he had the chance. He should have told Dumbledore that Bellatrix Lestrange had control of Hogwarts because Dumbledore might know what to do about it. He should have told Dumbledore that he had achieved the Merlin Effect because Dumbledore might be able to tell him how to achieve it again. There were still so many things he thought he should have asked Dumbledore but hadn't because in the shock of learning that he was a horcrux, he had forgotten everything else. Perhaps he could send Dumbledore an owl, but he had probably taken precautions so that owls could not find him.

After deciding that he could not postpone it any longer, Harry got up and headed back to the castle. As he walked by Hagrid's hut, the door opened and Hagrid stepped out looking very pleased about something and holding a piece of parchment.

"Hi Hagrid." Harry said to him.

"Harry!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Where have you been? Ron and Hermione came down last night looking for you. Said you were upset about something."

"I just needed some time alone." Harry smiled to himself remembering that he had not actually gotten that time alone.

"Well ya shouldn't spend your time alone so close to the dark forest. It's dangerous. I was in there last night looking for you and I heard some noises from a creature I've never seen before. Weird grunting-like noises coming from the lake." Harry tried not to burst out laughing.

"What's the note?" Harry asked hoping to change the subject.

"Oh this? It's a note from Gwarp."

This was startling news. Gwarp was Hagrid's younger brother and a giant. Hagrid had once tried to teach him English while hiding him in the dark forest which had led to Hagrid getting the crap kicked out of him. Since the incident two years ago when Gwarp had fought off centaurs for him, Harry had seen Gwarp only once at Dumbledore's funeral. The fact that Gwarp had written Hagrid a letter raised several questions. Harry thought for a moment about which question to ask first.

"How did Gwarp write that?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I would think that a letter from a giant would be, well… bigger." Hagrid looked down at the letter and chuckled.

"Well I never actually got around to teaching him how to write so I guess he got a wizard friend of his to write the letter for him."

"Gwarp has wizard friends?"

"Oh yeah, Gwarp's become quite a sociable chap." Harry had a feeling there was more to the story but decided he didn't want to pry.

"What does the note say?"

"Well Gwarp's been back to the mountains and he's successfully convinced a group of giant to come over to our side and fight against Voldemort." Harry looked at Hagrid with a surprised look on his face.

"Hagrid… you said his name." Hagrid smiled proudly.

"Yeah well I've been talking to Angie a lot. She keeps saying that we all need to start saying his name. At first I just tried to ignore it, but after a while it starts getting really annoying so I thought I'd just do it to get her off my back. Of course now that I've done it I just find myself doing it all the time. Speaking of which, hello there Angie!"

Harry looked up and saw Angie standing in the doorway leading into the castle. She was smiling at Harry her eyes twinkling. Those eyes. Those blue eyes. Harry had never noticed it before but they were just like Dumbledore's. Something clicked in the back of Harry's mind. Andrew Donovan was related to Dumbledore. Angie was Andrew's sister. Angie was related to Dumbledore.

"Morning Hagrid." Angie said in her normal cheery voice. "And Harry, where have you been? Ron and Hermione said you didn't come back last night." Harry shrugged.

"I felt like camping." Angie raised an eyebrow communicating that his answer was unusual, but thankfully asked no more questions.

* * *

Ron and Hermione's reactions were exactly as Harry had predicted. He told them the reason he had been upset was because he had gotten his hopes up after finding out Dumbledore was still alive only to discover that he would be dieing soon all over again. They seemed to buy this, as it upset them as well, though Ginny who was present at the time could probably tell that he was lying.

Harry had told them who R.A.B. was, and what Dumbledore had said about who R.A.B.'s accomplice was, but it wasn't until later that night alone in his Head Boy dorm that Harry remembered what Dumbledore had said about the memory. Dumbledore had told him that one of the memories that had come with the pensieve might help answer that question. Harry found his small parcels that all contained memories. Harry opened them all and read the notes that came with them looking until he found the right one. The note read:

_This is a particularly happy moment between your parents when your father gave your mother a graduation present._

Harry uncorked the bottle and poured the memory into the pensieve. The contents swirled and Harry saw that he was looking down into the Hogwarts courtyard at a red haired girl sitting under a tree reading a book. Harry plunged his face into the contents and landed on his feet in the grass. Harry looked down at his seventeen-year old mother. Despite the fact that she was his mother, he had to admit that she was very pretty. Harry wondered briefly if all Potter men were attracted to red-haired girls or if it was just a coincidence, then sighed sadly when he realized that he would never know.

"Lily!" Harry turned to see who had just called his mothers name and instantly recognized the girl running toward them.

"Angie!" Harry and his mother said at the same time. Harry couldn't believe how fast he had recognized a young Angie. She looked so different, so much younger, and yet so familiar. Based on what he saw the Angie he had seen before was this young Angie, but where had he seen her?

"I just got my N.E.W.T. scores!" Angie said as she sat down beside Lily and handed her the piece of parchment. Harry peeked over at Angie's N.E.W.T. scores. It was mostly Es, the kind of grade Harry hoped for himself.

"Well done Angie." Lily complemented.

"Now let me see yours." said Angie. Lily reached into her bag and handed over her N.E.W.T. scores in a fashion where one would assume it was no big deal. When Harry saw his mother's scores however, it was clear that she could have rivaled Hermione for top of the class.

"Here's what I don't get about you." said Angie once she had seen the scores. "How do you get scores like this, and not go parading them up and down the halls showing them to everyone?" Lily simply shrugged.

"So, have you seen James' scores?" Angie asked.

"That reminds me." Lily replied. "If you see James, tell him I'm mad at him." Angie rolled her eyes.

"Why do you care so much what James does to Snape? I mean half the time Snape attacks first."

"And the other half?" Angie looked away. She clearly had no answer for this. At this point Harry began to notice footsteps accompanied by the muffled laughter of two boys. Harry looked and saw some of the leaves and sticks moving of they're own accord which told him that someone under an invisibility cloak was moving in they're direction. Lily seemed to notice it too.

"Don't look now, but they're coming this way." Lily whispered to her friend. An excited look came over Angie's face. Lily slowly pulled her wand out of her pocket. Then in a quick and also quite impressive move she tossed her book aside, rolled out from behind the tree, pointed her wand in the direction of the boys under the cloak and shouted "_Evanesco!" _The spell, whatever it was, not only knocked the boys back, but apparently removed the effects of the invisibility cloak revealing a young James Potter and Sirius Black.

"Damn Lily!" James said as he and Sirius sat up and brushed themselves off. "Where did you learn that?" He sounded impressed, but Lily simply put her wand away and sat back down under the tree. "Lily?" James walked over to the tree and stood over Lily. "Are you giving me the silent treatment?" She continued to ignore him. "Angie?" James said looking over at Angie. Harry got the impression that this was a conversation they had all had before.

"She's upset about what you did to Snape." said Angie.

"Oh that? That was just a little graduation present. I was just having a little fun." Lily continued to ignore him. "Angie, Padfoot can you give us a moment?" Angie and Sirius both nodded and ran off together in another direction. James sat down next to Lily and curled up next to her affectionately. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box with a bow on it.

"I got you a present." he said enticingly holding the present up so that Lily could see it. When Lily saw it her expression changed and she made a grab for it, but James moved it away just in time. "Ah, first you need to ask me for it." Lily held out for a few seconds before finally giving up.

"Alright can I please have it?" Lily asked sounding not to happy about being beaten.

"Certainly." James replied handing her the box. Lily opened the present and then lit up when she saw what was inside. It was the locket that Ginny had given Harry on his birthday. When she opened it, Harry saw that it already had their pictures in it. "I had it especially made by the jeweler in Hogsmeade. There's only one other locket like it in the entire world."

"James I love it!" said Lily. Harry watched as his teenage parents grabbed each other and started kissing. He let out a sigh. It was indeed a happy moment but it didn't quite answer his question. He now knew that there was one other locket like that one in the entire world and that one was the fake horcrux he had found in the cave, but who had that locket?

Harry glanced over and saw that Sirius and Angie were under a nearby tree, then looked back at his parents, then did a double take when he realized what Sirius and Angie were doing. The were kissing. Harry immediately ran over to them. Angie had never mentioned dating Sirius. In that moment, Harry remembered where he had seen Angie before. He had seen her in Snape's memory looking hopefully at Sirius. Harry watched as they finished kissing and Angie tried on the new locket Sirius had just given her.

The memory had ended and Harry was back in his dorm room. He sat down on his bed to think about what he had just seen. So Angie was R.A.B.'s accomplice. She had the other locket that was just like the one that had belonged to his parents.

But even more than that, she had been in love with Sirius. The reason that she had left the country wasn't just because her best friend had died. It was because she, like everyone else had been led to believe that Sirius Black had been responsible for it. She thought that the man she loved had been responsible for the death of her best friend. She had only learned the truth a year ago. That was why she had decided to come back.


	26. The Happy and Most Humble House of Potte

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **Alright I made you wait again. Sorry, but you try going to college and writing a novel at the same time. The good news is that summer vacation has started and that means I've got a butt load of free time on my hands which I plan to use to lay around and do nothing. Hopefully I'll be able to sneak a few chapters in between my laying around. The title of this chapter is based on the name of a chapter from OoTP.

**Chapter 26**

**The Happy and Most Humble House of Potter**

Harry did not tell Ron and Hermione about what he'd seen in the memory. He planned to eventually, but he wanted to confront Angie first. He wanted to get the whole story before he told anyone anything. The problem was that he was somewhat hesitant to confront Angie about it. Harry didn't know why but he felt somewhat betrayed by the fact that Angie had not told him about her dating Sirius. He could understand why she would not want to talk about it, but it just seemed like such a key piece of information that he would have wanted to know. He felt lied to, which was an unreasonable feeling seeing that he had never actually asked her, but that didn't stop him from feeling it.

What's more, Harry had no idea how to confront Angie about this kind of thing. What exactly was he supposed to say to her? "Guess what? I know that you dated Sirius. Now let's talk about R.A.B." Even in his head he could see Angie breaking down in tears the moment the words were out of his lips. He had to be sensitive about it.

One night while thinking about what he might say to her, his thoughts were interrupted by Steven tapping hard on his shoulder. Harry shook himself out of his thoughts and asked what was up.

"Harry you haven't set a night for Quidditch practice this week." said Steve.

"Quidditch?" Harry asked, temporarily not knowing what he was talking about.

"Yeah Quidditch. You remember Quidditch don't you? The sport where everyone gets on broomsticks and flies around."

"Oh yeah. No Quidditch practice this week."

"No practice? Harry the match is next weekend! We should be practicing every day this week! Now is not the time for a break." Harry blinked. He had not thought about Quidditch once since his meeting with Dumbledore.

"Your right. We'll practice on Sunday, and then again during the week." Steve nodded and then left. Harry found himself wishing he had taken Quidditch more seriously. The fact was that the more he thought about Quidditch, the more it just seemed unimportant. Quidditch had always been a way been a way for Harry to forget about his problems, but all of a sudden he now had problems that he didn't want to forget about. Forgetting about defeating Voldemort, even temporarily, began to feel like procrastination.

* * *

As Harry walked into that Friday's D.A. meeting, he decided that he had put it off long enough. After the meeting he would confront Angie. Whatever he said would just have to come to him in the moment.

Professor Donovan was sitting at the front of the classroom and greeted the D.A. members as usual.

"Today," she said, "we will be learning about a dark curse called the Incrypto Curse, also known as the Purple Flame Curse. This curse was actually invented by Voldemort himself, and is therefore a favorite tool of Death Eaters. The effects of the Incrypto Curse are not fully understood by the wizarding community, as it is not a conventional spell, not even in the realm of dark magic. What is known is that if you get hit by the purple flame it will cause internal injuries and knock you out for several hours. Now it's a nonverbal spell but luckily it requires a very specific wand movement that is easily recognizable. Allow me to demonstrate."

Professor Donovan proceeded to conjure a target out of thin air and using the levitation spell allow it to hang in mid-air while she walked a few feet away from it. She then moved her wand in a familiar slashing motion and the purple flame burst out, shot across the room and blasted a hole in the target. Harry recognized the curse immediately. He'd seen Death Eaters use it. He'd actually seen Hermione get hit by it.

"Now," Professor Donovan continued, "this curse is illegal so I can't teach you how to do it. I also cannot in good conscience allow you to practice defending yourselves against it because of fear that you might get hurt. All I can do is tell you how to defend against it. You must catch the purple flame with your wand as if you are going to deflect it and at that exact moment think the counter curse. _Incryptia._ Everyone say it with me."

"_Incryptia."_ chanted the entire class.

"Good. Now how about a demonstration." Professor Donovan didn't even have to say Harry's name. The entire group spread out so that Harry could walk to the front of the room, which he did. "Harry, tell me when your ready." Harry prepared himself mentally and took the defensive dueling position.

"Ready." Harry said. Professor Donovan moved her wand in the slashing motion and fired the purple flame at Harry. Harry moved his wand to deflect the curse and thought "_Incryptia!"_ The flame successfully dissolved and the class applauded.

The class ended a while later after Professor Donovan had given out more notes on the Incrypto Curse. Harry lagged behind and told Ron and Hermione to go ahead. Soon he and Angie were alone. Harry stood there in silence for a few moments not quite knowing what to say.

"Yes Harry?" Angie asked from her seat behind her desk.

"Um… good lesson." Harry sputtered.

"Thanks. Is that all?"

"No." Harry shook his head and righted himself. He walked up to the desk, pulled the fake horcrux out of his pocket and placed it on the desk. "I think this is yours."

Angie looked surprised at the sight of the locket. She immediately snatched it up and opened it. She took the parchment out and looked like she was reading it over and over again.

"Harry where did you get this?" she finally asked. She suddenly looked extremely apprehensive.

"A cave. On an island surrounded by black water full of inferi." There was another silence. Angie then looked down at the desk.

"That's where you and Dumbledore went the night he was murdered wasn't it?" she asked. Harry nodded. "I suppose I owe you an explanation." she said.

"No you don't. You and R.A.B. went into the cave and got the Locket of Slytherin. Then you left this in it's place." Angie simply nodded. "What happened to R.A.B." Harry asked.

"He died destroying the locket. You see in order to destroy a horcrux you have to sacrifice part of yourself. In Professor Bellicose case he ended up sacrificing his life. He was my uncle." There was yet another silence.

"I'm sorry." Harry said. Angie nodded. She continued to stare down at the locket, and then she seemed to realize something for the first time.

"How did you know that this was mine?" she asked.

Harry took a deep breath and proceeded to tell her everything. He told her that Dumbledore was still alive. He told her that her brother and Snape were his spies. Surprisingly, Angie did not seem the least bit surprised to hear this.

"I should've known old Dumbledore could never be murdered." she said with a slight smile. "I'm related to him you know." Harry nodded. "I'm not sure exactly how though. He's like my great uncle's first cousin or something like that. Anyway, sorry to interrupt. Please continue."

Harry continued to tell her about Dumbledore giving him his pensieve along with the memories of his parents. And finally he told her about the memory where he had seen Angie and Sirius together. Upon learning this, Angie turned away again. Harry could see tears starting to well up in her eyes again.

"I owe you an apology Harry." she said sadly.

"For what?" Harry asked, although he could guess what was coming next but wanted to hear her say it. Angie let out a low sigh and opened a drawer in her desk from which she extracted a small framed picture and handed it to Harry. It was a picture of Sirius and Angie looking up at him and waving.

"Sirius and I were engaged around the time that you were born." Angie said. "Your parents made Sirius your godfather." There was a pause. "And they made me your godmother."

Harry looked up at Angie. She was his godmother. He had known her for several months and never once known that she was his godmother. Harry's whole life he had grown up without any kind of parental figures (unless you count the Dursleys which he didn't) while all along he had godparents who could have filled that void. Sirius had a good excuse for not being there for Harry. He was locked up in Azkaban. Angie on the other hand could have come over from America any time she wanted, but she hadn't. She'd remained in America leaving him there to face the Dursleys all by himself. Harry should've been angry. He should have yelled at her and demanded why she hadn't been there fulfilling her duty as godmother. But regardless of what he should have felt, Harry felt no anger, no betrayal. All he felt was happiness at knowing that he had a godmother.

"You don't need to apologize." Harry said simply. Angie looked up at him. They were both silent for several minutes. Neither of them said a thing. Harry just smiled as his godmother and she just smiled back at him. Angie was the one to finally break the silence.

"Well then I suppose we should go get the next horcrux." Harry was stunned by these words.

"What?"

"Well since you know about the horcruxes, you'd probably be best suited to come with me to go get the next one."

"You mean you know where it is… and what it is?"

"Of course. Don't you?" Harry starred at her blankly. Angie chuckled. "All right, quick lesson in History of Magic. The famous witch Rowena Ravenclaw is famous for three things. Can you name one?" Harry continued to stare blankly. He began to wish that he had read Hogwarts: A History like Hermione had suggested. He had tried but had gotten bored and given up.

"No." Angie rolled her eyes.

"How about founding Hogwarts?" Harry could have smacked himself up-side the head.

"Right of-course. What else?"

"First, she is famous for defeating the dark witch Jadis Charn, who was known for turning her victims into stone, and second for being an award winning Quidditch player." This was truly surprising information.

"She played Quidditch?"

"Of course. She's the reason that Hogwarts has a Quidditch cup. She also had a legendarily fast broomstick that she had invented herself. The Broom of Ravenclaw was once kept at the Magical Museum in London, but about fifty years ago it was stolen and has never been recovered."

"Your saying that Ravenclaw's broomstick is the next horcrux?"

"Very good Harry."

"And where is it?"

"Well I don't know for sure but I believe it is in a place of great significance to Voldemort. In a muggle town right out in the open surrounded by an invisibility barrier. You've been there Harry. You've looked right at it."

Harry searched his memory trying to figure out what she was referring to. At first he could think of nothing, but then a thought occurred to him.

"My parent's house, in Godric's Hollow?" Angie nodded.

"I visited it during the summer and there is definitely an enchantment in that vacant lot. I would have gone in and investigated, but Professor Bellicose always said 'never plunge into the unknown without an ally.' If you'll come with me, I'll feel much safer." There was another short silence.

"You mean you want to go right now?" Harry asked. Angie shrugged.

"No time like the present." she replied.

"Right." Harry said. "Just let me get something first."

"Fine meet me in the entrance hall."

Harry quickly took off and ran back to the Gryffindor common room, which was empty since it was so late at night. He ran up to his room and grabbed his invisibility cloak and Dumbledore's put-outer. He then ran back down to the entrance hall where Angie was waiting for him.

"Good thinking." she said when she saw the invisibility cloak draped over his shoulder. Harry covered himself with it and the two of them headed out. Once they were outside the Hogwarts gates they apparated and then they were in front of the vacant lot in Godric's Hollow. Harry pulled out the put-outer and clicked it until all the street lights were out and they were in darkness. Angie once again complemented Harry on his quick thinking. They then both pulled out their wands and pointed them at the fence surrounding the empty lot and both fired Reductor curses which created a large hole in the fence.

"Better let me go first." Angie suggested. "Don't follow until I give you a sign." Angie walked foreword and stepped through the hole in the fence. Harry watched as her body disappeared as if stepping behind a wall. When she was completely gone, Harry stood there alone for a few short seconds before Angie stuck her hand out and beckoned him to follow. Harry walked up to the fence and stepped through.

It took a few seconds for what he saw to process. When it finally did, he couldn't quite understand it. It was the house. The same house that his parents had lived in. He had been told that the house had been destroyed when Voldemort visited it, but there it was looking exactly as it had before. How he knew what the house looked like he couldn't quite explain.

Angie walked up to the door and tried the knob. It was locked. She tried the Alohamora charm, but it didn't work. She tried the Reductor curse, but it did nothing. She then stepped back and examined the door thoughtfully.

"Any ideas?" she asked Harry. Harry hung back looking at the house. There were lights coming from the windows. It looked like someone was home. Harry walked up to the door.

"We could ring the bell." he suggested. Angie shrugged as if to say it was as good an idea as any. Harry pushed the button for the doorbell and heard it ring inside. Surprisingly a few seconds later the door opened. When Harry saw the man who had just opened the door he was forced to step back in shock. He looked at Angie and saw a look of equal shock on her face. Both of them had suspected the unexpected having no idea what they would find on this little trip. But neither of them had expected this.

**Author's Note: **BUM BUM BUM! One more chapter down. I might actually finish this damn story. And now I would like to start a contest. Hidden somewhere in this chapter is a reference to another fantasy book series. If you can identify it and say what series it is a reference to I will reward you with a spoiler.


	27. Doppelgangers

**Disclaimer: **All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.

**Author's Note: **Ok the contest is over. The reference was to Jadis which is the name of the White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia. Jadis comes from the world of Charn which you would know if you read The Magician's Nephew. There is another reference to the series in this chapter. This one to The Silver Chair. See if you can find it. Sadly I'm not giving out any more spoilers.

**Chapter 27**

**Doppelgangers**

"Angie! Harry! What a wonderful surprise. So good to see you both. Please come in." Harry and Angie were both speechless. They stared unblinkingly at the man who had just spoken to them. He was a young man, about Angie's age with glasses and untidy black hair. Very untidy black hair.

"Something wrong?" the man asked. "You both look like you've just seen a ghost." Harry and Angie looked at each other. Had they just seen a ghost? They turned back to the man. Angie was the first to say something.

"James?" she asked.

"You were expecting Yardley Pratt?" James responded. Despite the shock, Angie actually chuckled a little while Harry just wondered who Yardley Pratt was. "Well don't just stand on the porch all night long. Come inside."

Harry and Angie looked at each other again. Angie motioned for Harry to stay where he was which Harry took to mean she would go in first and let him know if it was ok to follow.

She walked forward slowly on her guard thinking that the man standing in the doorway who looked and acted like James Potter could easily transform into some kind of rabid monster and bite her head off. Finally she stepped across the threshold into the house. Harry had his hand on his wand as he watched this expecting any number of things to happen. Strangely all that seemed to happen was that Angie let her guard down and seemed to relax a little. She turned to Harry and motioned for him to come in.

The moment Harry stepped inside the house his nostrils were suddenly hit by a very pungent aroma that seemed to fill the entire house. It seemed to scatter his brains for a second but Harry quickly collected himself.

"Harry!" said James once Harry was inside. "Look at you. Your so tall. Soon you'll be taller than me." He then sighed mournfully. "It's just to bad that I missed you growing up. But we've got all night to get caught up don't we son." Harry smiled and nodded. Harry had a vague nagging in his brain telling him that he hadn't actually come here to catch up with his dead father. Of course, at the moment, he couldn't actually remember why he had come here if not to get caught up with his father, but decided he would remember soon.

"Come on you two." James said. "Lily's just gotten dinner ready." He led Harry and Angie into the dining room where the table was set up for two people and a nice large turkey dinner was set up ready to be eaten. "Lily!" James called out. "You'll never guess who showed up for dinner."

"Who?" a female voice responded. Suddenly Harry began to tremble. He hadn't been ready for it. He looked over at Angie and saw a look of sheer joy on her face. The nagging sensation in the back of his head was telling him that he shouldn't be getting to happy, but Harry wasn't quite listening. Soon a woman walked in from the kitchen. She was a very beautiful woman with bright green eyes. Angelica instantly walked right up to her.

"Lily?" she asked. She sounded unsure but hopeful.

"Angie!" Lily responded sounding surprised and happy. The two women immediately embraced. After a few seconds they pulled out of the hug and Lily looked in Harry's direction. "And Harry!" Lily quickly ran over to Harry and gave him another big hug as well as a kiss on the cheek. Harry was incapable of responding. He was in a state of shock. He could not believe that he was in his own home being hugged by his own mother. It was like all his dreams had come true.

"Harry I didn't know you were coming. You should have sent an owl." Lily said after pulling out of the squeeze. "It's lucky that I made to much food again." She then pulled out her wand and conjured enough chairs, plates, and silverware for Harry and Angie. The four of them then sat down for dinner.

It was by far the happiest dinner Harry had ever experienced. Harry's mother was by far the best cook whose food he had ever eaten. Harry told his parents all about his years at Hogwarts. He'd never before realized that he was capable of talking so much, but there he was going on and on about his antics with his friends Ron and Hermione, his rivalry with Draco Malfoy, his playing for the Quidditch team, and everything else while his parents sat rapt with attention.

Then his parents began to talk. They told Harry about their years at Hogwarts, how they'd met, how they'd fallen in love. Then they told about how they'd left school and both become Aurors and fought against Voldemort. Harry thought he'd never been more interested in anything else in his life that the stories that his parents were telling. It never once occurred to Harry to ask why his parents were still alive. To him it seemed like they'd always been alive.

After dinner they all retired into the living room. It was a quaint and comfortable room. It contained the usual pieces of living room furniture: a couch, and an armchair that were both gathered around a fireplace where a strange purple fire was burning. As soon as Harry entered the room, his father pulled him aside.

"Come here Harry, there's something I want to show you." said James. He led Harry over to the wall opposite the fireplace where several framed photographs were hung. "See this?" James asked, referring to one of the pictures. "This was taken during my seventh year at Hogwarts. Recognize anyone?" Harry looked and did indeed recognize all the people in the picture. It was a group photo of the Marauders. There was Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin.

"And this," James continued, "was the first picture ever taken of your mother and I when we were dating. And this is us on graduation day with Professor Dumbledore, and us with our friends Arthur Weasly and his future wife Molly Prewitt, and this is us with our friends Frank Longbottom and his future wife Alice Robinson."

Harry listened intently hanging onto every word his father said. It was all extremely interesting and made him very happy, but it also seemed to make him sleepy. Lily had Angie on the couch and the two of them were talking nonstop. Harry noticed that Angie was also looking very tired but he immediately dismissed it from his mind. At the moment all he wanted was sit down and the armchair next to the couch looked very inviting. Suddenly another need came into his mind that quickly overrode his need to sit.

"Dad, where's the bathroom?" Harry asked.

"Upstairs, across from your room." James replied with a smile.

As Harry made his way upstairs, the pungent smell that had originally filled his nostrils upon entering the house and had surrounded him ever since slowly became less intense. As he stood in the bathroom urinating into the toilet his head began to clear. For some reason he had been unable to focus properly while he had been downstairs. All this thoughts had been scrambled. Now reason was returning to him. He remembered that he had come here for a purpose. He and Angie had to find that horcrux and then they had to leave. Even if the people downstairs were really his parents, he couldn't stay here forever. As Harry finished urinating, he cleared his mind, and focused his thoughts on accomplishing his goal.

But as he stepped out of the bathroom, he heard a noise coming from the room across from the bathroom. It was a soft noise, so soft that a second later Harry wasn't even sure if he'd heard anything at all. His father's words echoed in his mind.

"Upstairs, across from your room." is what his father had said. Harry suddenly became curious. Behind this door was his room. Based on what memory he had of when he was a baby, which was _very_ limited, everything in this house had been preserved just the way it had been the night Voldemort had come for Harry. What would he find if he looked in his room.

Harry turned the knob and looked inside. What he saw surprised him. The room was messy with toys all over the floor, and the wallpaper had several pictures of little dragons all over it. It wasn't the room of a seventeen year-old boy, but rather of a small baby. This was punctuated by the fact that there was a crib in the corner of the room. Not only that but from where Harry was standing it looked like there was a baby in the crib.

Harry walked slowly over to the crib and looked inside and there it was. A small boy baby with black hair and green eyes. Harry had no idea what to make of it. It was strange. The baby was just looking up at him and smiling. The baby had no scar on it's forehead which was also strange. Harry stood there stunned for several seconds wondering weather or not he had some how slipped into the twilight zone. Then as he turned to leave, he saw something in the other corner of the room that was much more interesting.

It was a broomstick. It was the broomstick that he had come for. The Broom of Ravenclaw. Harry walked straight to it. The symbol of Ravenclaw was inscribed on the top of the handle which alleviated any other doubts he might have had. Harry grabbed it.

The second his hand touched the broom, he was startled by a noise behind him. When he turned around, he saw that the door of the crib had dropped down for no visible reason. The little baby Harry had stood up and was walking toward the edge of the crib. Harry hadn't thought that he had learned to walk already at that age, but then suddenly realized that the baby was about to walk right out of the crib. Harry thought he might save the baby with a spell so he pulled out his wand, but by the time he time he had it out, the baby had already stepped over the edge and miraculously landed on it's feet looking unharmed.

The baby then turned to face Harry, raised it's right hand, and pointed a tiny little finger at him. It was the oddest thing Harry had ever seen. The baby then opened it's mouth and let out a soft babyish coo that sounded an awful lot like "_Crucio."_

Harry hit the floor screaming in pain. The sharp stabbing pain was unmistakable. It was the cruciatus curse. The pain continued for a few more second and then stopped. Harry laid there for a few seconds to catch his breath, thanked God that he had held onto his wand, pointed it at the baby and shouted "_Stupefy." _The baby fell down into a deep sleep.

Harry scrambled to his feet and looked down at what he had just done. He'd attacked a baby. A brief memory of something that had happened at the Ministry the night Harry had discovered the prophecy flashed through his mind. Harry thought hard about why this baby had just attacked him. And then it hit him. Doppelgangers. That baby wasn't him, and those two people downstairs weren't his parents. They were doppelgangers.

Harry grabbed the broom and ran downstairs with his wand at the ready. As he made his way downstairs, the pungent smell hit his nose again. The minute the fake James Potter saw Harry he ran up to him and asked what was wrong. Harry had thought he would immediately fire a stunning spell at him, but for some reason he restrained himself.

"Don't pretend like you don't know! Your little guard upstairs attacked me. I know what you are so get out of my way or I'll make you."

"What are you talking about?" James asked calmly.

"You're a doppelganger!"

"No I'm not. I'm your father." Harry began to lower his wand, extremely glad that his earlier beliefs had proven to be false. Then he raised it again when he realized that they had not been proven to be false at all.

"No your not! You're a doppelganger and you're here to guard this horror!"

"No." James said just as calmly. "I'm James Potter and that's not a horcrux it's just an old broom." Once again, Harry found himself believing everything this man told him without even thinking about it. Harry shook his head trying to collect his thoughts and figure out why he was suddenly believing everything he was being told. He looked over at Angie for help and saw that she seemed to have fallen asleep on the couch. Lily had now stood up from the couch and was now paying full attention to Harry.

Then suddenly it hit him. It was the smell. The pungent smell that filled the room was somehow lowering his defenses and taking away his energy. That must have been the plan. To get them to fall asleep and then kill them.

Harry pulled back the broom realizing that the fake James had made a grab for it and looked around the room for the source of the smell. His eyes locked onto the purple fire burning in the fire place. Harry summoned up every ounce of energy he could muster, ran over to the fire, pointed his wand at it and shouted "_Auguamentai!" _Water shot out of his wand and extinguished the fire. The pungent aroma disappeared almost instantly.

"_Expeliamus!"_ Harry's wand shot out of his hand and landed on the floor. Harry looked over at the his fake father who had cast the disarming charm. He no longer looked happy and harmless. Now he looked mad. "You just had to do it didn't you? You could have died quickly and painlessly in your sleep, but no. Well I guess it doesn't really matter now does it?" He looked up at the fake Lily who had taken her wand out as well. "Shall we just kill him dear?"

"No let's torture him first." Lily replied with a sadistic smile on her face. "1... 2... 3... _Crucio."_ Harry had once thought that the Cruciatus curse was painful. Now he knew that it was nothing compared to two Cruciatus curses at once. The pain was so incredible, Harry wasn't even conscious of falling on the floor and screaming in pain. Once the pain stopped after what, for all Harry knew, could have been several hours, he found himself hoping that they would please kill him next.

"Well that was fun." James said. "Shall we finish the job?" His wife nodded. "1... 2... 3... _Avada Ke-"_

Suddenly the room was overcome with a bright flash of light. For a second, Harry thought he was dead. But then he heard two thuds of two people falling to the ground. A hand grabbed his and pulled him to his feet and pulled him in an unknown direction. When his eyesight returned, he was back on the streets of Godric's Hollow, just outside of his parent's house. He looked up and saw that Angie was the one holding his hand, and in her other hand was the Broom of Ravenclaw.

"You were screaming so loud, you woke me up." Angie explained. Despite the fact that Harry had just been less than a second away from death, Harry grinned.

"I never thought I'd say this," Harry said, "but it's a good thing they tortured me."

**Author's Note: **And we end on a laugh. As I write this I am getting ready to leave for a vacation to Israel so don't expect the next chapter to soon.


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